Rape and Victim Blaming

Hi guys!
This might be a bit of a different one for me but I feel that it is a topic that really needs some coverage. 
If any of you have seen or heard on the news, there has been a petition calling for a poster, part of the government’s ‘Know your Limits’ campaign, to be removed as it has been viewed as victim blaming. If none of you have seen this poster, here it is:

Now, I don't know about you but I feel this is disgraceful of the government and is just  another step backwards. After seeing this poster I kinda thought I would voice my opinion on this matter.

A few facts
According to RapeCrisis:

• Approximately 85,000 women are raped on average in England and Wales every year

• Over 400,000 women are sexually assaulted each year

• 1 in 5 women (aged 16 - 59) has experienced some form of sexual violence since the age of 16.

RAINN (Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network) has also stated that 60% of rapes are never reported. I feel that, because of posters like this, victims are less likely to report. Would you want to be blamed for what happened? Was your skirt too short? Had you drank too much? Surely not? This however, is the attitude that many seem to have and it is leading to misconceptions and judgement of victims who instead deserve sympathy and support for a horrible crime that has been committed against them. 

I have experienced this treatment. When I was assaulted 5 years ago, the police asked me why I had been out so late and if I had been drinking. I was so shocked that they felt the need to ask these questions. It felt as if I had brought it on myself and that I deserved it to happen to me because I had made the choice to go out late at night. This is wrong and this is what needs to change. 

You see it all the time in the news, not just with rape and sexual assault but with other day to day issues. I watched This Morning the other day and they were talking about revenge porn, sexually explicit media that is publicly shared online without the consent of the pictured individual with the intent to shame or embarrass the individual, typically uploaded by ex-partners. I hate the idea of this ever happening to me, but the main issue I had was with Denise Robertson, This Morning's agony aunt. Her response to this issue was that people shouldn't take explicit photos in the first place. As soon as she said this I felt myself getting so angry. People should be allowed to take photos but people shouldn't be so vindictive to share them without consent. Once again, it places blame on the victim by saying that if they hadn't done a certain action then the problem wouldn't have happened.

After looking into opinions of rape and victims of rape, I was in complete shock. The Amnesty International poll of 1,000 people in 2005 found over 25% believe the woman is at least partly to blame if she has worn revealing clothing or been drunk. Similarly, more than a quarter of people (30%) said that a woman was partially or totally responsible for being raped if she was drunk, and more than a third (37%) held the same view if the woman had failed to clearly say no to the man. This victim blaming will hold us back from living in an equal society. The government says we live in one currently, but from these figures it is clear we don't. 

Boys need to be taught about this subject from a younger age. I remember at school (I went to an all girls school), teachers telling us that we need to look after ourselves and be sensible, but what are boys taught? Boys need to know that no means no and that if a woman is too drunk to consent, to leave her alone. I am not going to go on an anti-man rant, because I know that it can happen to men too, but education is one of the first steps to ending this cycle of victim blaming and negative perceptions of rape victims.

Women should be allowed to dress how they like, walk where they like and act how they like without fear of being harmed. There are so many excuses and it is time that the government and members of the public took note of this and realise that it is NEVER the victims fault. Nobody should have to go through something as traumatic as rape and then be blamed. I have spent days in tears because I blamed myself for what happened to me, and I now realise that I was so wrong. I just hope that other women can feel the way I feel and know that they are not alone but are in no way to blame. 

This isn't an issue just in the UK. I think this website gives a really good insight into the global rape crisis.

I really hope that one day rape will be no more and people will be respected and viewed as equal. 

Thanks

(If anyone is interested, this is the petition to remove the 'Know your Limits' poster - please sign!)