“Don’t Blame The Victim!” Victim Defenders Insist!

The text asks, “What is victim-blaming and what is victim-defending?” on pp. 151-155 of Chapter 5 in the Tenth Edition, and on pp. 138-141 of Ch. 5 of the 9th edition. Are these examples of victim-blaming or not?

A College Student Is Murdered. The Police Suspect She Was Seeking To Buy Marihuana. Don’t Blame The Victim Her Parents Say

After an 18 year-old first year student at a prestigious college in stabbed to death by several very young robbers, her family objects that a police union official seemed to imply that she was inadvertently responsible for her own death, as stated here. The police official insists he was not blaming her, he was faulting the policy of overlooking marijuana possession, as presented here. The mayor weighed in, declaring, “We don’t blame victims in this city,” as quoted here.

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A Video About A Dog Resisting Temptation Goes Viral.  It Raises Awareness About Avoiding Victim-Blaming In Rape Cases

A video shows how a dog has learned to respect the phrase “No means No!,”as shown here.

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A Comedian Mocks Victim Blaming Arguments About Rape

In a tweet about a case on trial, the comedian makes analogy between robbery and rape, about whether “no really means no,”  as recounted here.________________________________________________

VIDEO COMPARES ROBBERY TO RAPE TO MOCK VICTIM-BLAMING

When a victim of a robbery(actually a burglary) is castigated for arousing the interest of an offender,the illogical arguments hurled at rape victims become clear in comparison, as shown here.

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Public Service Ads Expose Faulty Logic Behind Victim-Blaming in Rape Cases

A marketing firm hired by the Obama Administration’s “It’s On Us” consciousness-raising campaign, presided over by Vice President Joe Biden, mock the logic of victim-blaming as it plays out in everyday life, as dramatized in ads shown here.

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President Trump’s Tweet After A Mass Shooting At A High School Is Slammed For Blaming The Students

In the aftermath of a massacre of high school students in Florida, the president’s tweet about failing to report suspicious activity to the police struck many students as victim-blaming, as illustrated here.

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A PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE IS ACCUSED OF ADVANCING A VICTIM-BLAMING ARGUMENT ABOUT MASS SHOOTINGS

Dr. Ben Carson was a candidate seeking the Republican Party’s endorsement for president in 2016. After a mass shooting on a community college campus in Oregon,  he told an interviewer what he would have done. Some thought that sounded like victim-blaming. The debate intensified when the candidate recounted how he reacted when a robber pulled a gun on him in a fast food joint, as documented here.

(After the election, President Trump appointed this former neurosurgeon to his cabinet, as the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.)

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SMARTPHONE ROBBERIES RISE – BUT ARE THE GIANT CORPORATIONS PARTLY TO BLAME?

Provides another example to illustrate the opposing viewpoints, which are examined on pp. 151-155 in Chapter 5 in the Tenth Edition and  pp. 155-157 in Ch. 5 of the Ninth Edition.

Victim-blaming asserts that those whose cell phones were taken by robbers should have been more cautious. Victim-defending claims that most of the individuals whow were robbed of their smartphones did nothing wrong. System-blaming charges that the wireless providers and cell phone manufacturers bear some responsibility for these robberies of their customers. View a video that explores these three perspectives here.

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VICTIMS OF IDENTITY THEFT OFTEN HAVE DONE “NOTHING WRONG”

Furthers the arguments of victim-defending that those whose identities are stolen usually are not to blame; see p. 144 of Ch. 5

This article points out different ways that innocent victims have suffered when impostors steal their federal tax refunds, through no fault of their own – such as sending in a  1040 tax return the old fashioned way – on paper as opposed to filing electronically. Read about 10 ways of losing tax refunds to impersonators based on real-life cases here.

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TV SHOW EXPLORES VICTIM-BLAMING ARGUMENTS IN DATE RAPE

Four teenage guys, a bottle of vodka, no one home, and one teenage girl: is that a recipe for disaster? After photos circulated in school the next day, the girl charged that the boys violated her against her will. They claim she consented, and a widely watched TV talk show provides a lot of air time to her, her alleged assailants, and even some parents, to present victim-blaming vs. victim-defending arguments, as described here.

 

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COVERAGE OF A TEEN DATE RAPE CASE IN A SMALL TOWN SLIPPED INTO VICTIM-BLAMING

(See the page on Victims of Sexual Assaults to find out more about this case of high school athletes taking terrible advantage of an intoxicated teenage girl).

This analysis of how the mainstream media portrayed a small town acquaintance rape case points out how victim-blaming arguments were featured, and makes victim-defending points in rebuttal. Read the analysis here.

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IS TELLING FEMALES HOW TO DRESS A PRELUDE TO VICTIM-BLAMING?

This columnist examines the tension between personal expression (as indicated by how one looks or dresses) and personal responsibility for staying safe here.

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IS TELLING YOUNG WOMEN, “DON’T GET DRUNK!” ACTUALLY A BURDEN-SHIFTING VICTIM-BLAMING MESSAGE?

Many risk reduction recommendations place the burden of avoiding rape on the targets of would-be rapists. Shouldn’t the rape prevention messages be beamed at teenage boys, exhorting them to “Don’t get drunk;”” Don’t prey on intoxicated females!”; and “Don’t force yourself sexually on an unwilling person”? Read about the two clashing approaches here.

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NEW DRINK-TESTER DETECTS THE PRESENCE OF DATE RAPE DRUGS: Will This Head Off Victim-Blaming?

Expands upon a “victimization prevention” product mentioned on p. 301 of Chapter 10.

A man who claims that he was “roofied” while out drinking with friends has entered his invention into the market of products that indicate the presence of various date-rape drugs in alcoholic beverages. His sales pitch is that the use of his product (straws and coasters that change color) will help women to avoid victim-blaming accusations, as described here. But since many see alcohol itself a date rape drug, getting intoxicated and then getting violated could still happen and victims will still be faulted for drinking too much.

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AVOIDING VICTIM-BLAMING WHEN LEARNING ABOUT A SEXUAL ASSAULT

This columnist offers some practical advice about how to respond when someone discloses that he or she has been sexually assaulted here.

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VICTIM OF A STATUTORY RAPE IS BLAMED, KILLS HERSELF A FEW YEARS LATER

Illustrates the argument put forward on pp. 158-160 in Ch. 5 that if the victim is considered partly to blame, the offender will be punished less severely.

A high school teacher seduces his 14 year old student; a judge imposes a light sentence, in part because he feels she is partly to blame because she acted older than a 14 year old would. The judge is criticized, and the victim commits suicide, as explained here. She shot herself in part because of the social reaction to her pressing charges: she was bullied and then ostracized, as described here.