Victim blaming

Many IU students believe that when a woman is raped or sexually assaulted, she shares blame for the crime — maybe because she had too much to drink, went somewhere alone with her attacker, or because she and the attacker had had consensual sex before. We believe that this idea presents a serious obstacle to creating a culture of care at IU.

The problem with this notion of shared blame is that it’s based on a myth — the myth of men as predators and women as prey.

It goes like this: Men are savage beasts that cannot control themselves sexually, and if a man wants sex, any woman around him is at risk of being raped.

Women are therefore expected to take precautions to prevent rape from happening. For example, women are often told to carry pepper spray, not dress too promiscuously, not let strangers into their houses, etc.

If a woman behaves in these ways, it is imagined that she is willing to have sex — she’s “asking for it.” And if she is raped when engaging in any of these behaviors, people believe that the victim shares as much blame as the rapist.

But here’s the reality: men can control themselves! They are not helpless in the face of sexual desire!

Rape is not about sexual desire; it is about control, and it’s not an accidental thing.

As with many college campuses, this practice of victim blaming is prevalent at IU.

As a campus, we have a responsibility to end this practice. Rape is a violent and traumatizing crime.

Those of us working on the Culture of Care initiative believe that IU, as a community, should be above blaming rape’s innocent survivors.

We should instead turn our attention to those who commit rape and the culture that allows them to do so with shared, rather than complete, blame.

Everyone can do something to fight against this culture of victim-blaming.

You must always ensure that your partner is willing to consent. You should look out for your peers at parties and step in when you see something wrong.

Finally, when approximately one out of four college women and one out of 36 college men are survivors of sexual assault, you must remember that when discussing sexual assault, many of the people listening might have lived through one.

Therefore, when you speak or write about sexual assault, do it with thought and
compassion.

In order to build a community where everyone is safe, we must hold perpetrators accountable for their actions rather than blame innocent survivors. Through compassion in our words, actions and thoughts, we can create a culture of care at IU.

— Culture of Care Steering Committee