To what extent is a rape victim responsible for the crime?

[Paraselene]

In all seriousness, though, in most instances it is very difficult to determine who is telling the truth and who is lying in rape cases, because it is a he said, she said scenario.

[Something completely different]

How effective is that type of prevention? Can we actually prepare potential victims? I think answers to those questions are necessary, sir Germans. My answer to your question though is, I do not think a person can prevent a crime against themselves to a large degree, so I do not think it's their responsibility.

there is a park infront of the trainstation in the city in which I go to nightschool at which heroin and meth junkies hang out. Everyone avoids this park after 10 pm because people tend to get mugged there.

Would I be a little bit responsible for being mugged when I go through that park at 2 am?

I will never every questions the concept of a criminals responsiblity in a crime.
I am simply thinking that .................

Actualy yes. You are right.

I stand corrected.

[pineapplebunnybounce]

Taking steps to prevent something doesn't mean we're acknowledging women are responsible for rape. Women are NOT. Some genius please tell me how to prevent rape and sexual assault. I mean really. Besides all the things you can do that prevents mugging. What additional things can you do to prevent rape? There's nothing. You think wearing layers of clothes will prevent rape? No it won't. I watched a little bit of that video and then realized it's 20 mins and I don't even agree with the first 2 mins so I stopped. In Malaysia, when I was a schoolgirl, the newspaper published that the government thinks that schoolgirl uniforms are the cause of the increased rape statistics. Reason? It's too white. (This is too many years ago so I won't bother looking for the article) Call me biased all you like, some men will always think that women are responsible for the feelings of attraction they caused in men. To these type of men, the woman is the tease, he's never mistaken about her intentions, not even when she says no.

Edit: took out my own personal experience because I just wanted to make the point that rape and sexual assault often happens in places where women don't expect to be treated that way, and by people they trust to be "safe". I believe the following link makes that point quite well.

http://projectunbreakable.tumblr.com/

so I came across this a while back, and realized that rape happens more often than we think, and not always in the stereotypical "at the wrong place at the wrong time" scenario.

[Jackalope]

Crime in general can happen anywhere to anyone. There are steps one can take to minimize your chances of becoming victimized - my mother was traveling in an area known to be worked by teams of pickpockets. She didn't take any of the recommended precautions and was taken for 650 euros.

She was foolish, but that in no way made the crime less of a crime.

Likewise, there is a forest near here that has many walking and jogging trails. Quite some time ago, it was also being worked by a serial rapist. Avoiding going there alone would be prudent, but not doing so wouldn't make anything that happened the victim's fault.

[Ryantology]

Perpetrators are responsible for the crimes they commit, be it rape or robbery or downloading cars on the internet. Blaming the victim, in any circumstance, is a vicious and thoughtless thing to do.

[Captain Colostomy]

Actively fighting crime can get you killed. Batman's longevity is a fabrication. The full weight of responsibility falls on the perpetrator of crime. Period.

I am not talking about active crime fighting as a vigilanty.

I am talking about being aware of what situations may get you into a crime and how you can prevent it.

And I am certainly not talking about taking the guilt from a criminal and leaving it on the victim.

I still don't buy it. I have no reason to object 'situation awareness' being utilized by anyone, but I'm loathe to assign partial blame on someone who obviously didn't try and became a victim. The whole 'she dressed like a slut...no wonder she got raped' line is utter bullshit. Hell, putting yourself in a questionable position/area may seem foolish, but only in retrospect after a crime is committed. That's how it becomes questionable! This 'Captain Hindsight' approach is pointless, and isn't fair to the victim.

[Zazzy]

I'd be surprised if there was a woman out there who didn't have questions about this very topic in their own personal experience. I know I do- I think about things that happened 20 years ago and still wonder what was what (like wondering the morning after whether or not I had actually consented when stone drunk and having a vague memory of wishing he would get off me and expressing that and being held down and then just acquiescing to get it over with- but it was all so damned vague because of the Stoli).

In my experience, most cases are not clear-cut stranger rape. But all of these "he said, she said" cases results in women who feel really humiliated and abused (in the experience I described above, I felt these)- sometimes with men who are totally clueless as to why. Some women call it rape, some chalk it up to bad decision-making and decide to lie back and take it and call it a bad sexual experience rather than fight, get overpowered, and know for sure it's rape. It's often easier to just go through it with the illusion of consent than to struggle and then have to call the police. Are these men bad people? They are often drunk, too, and fired up by the woman in question. It's sometimes hard to judge them as sexual criminals forever.

But.

No matter what, making absolutely sure your partner is expressing enthusiastic, ongoing consent is pretty important. If you aren't absolutely sure your partner is digging it, ask. Then keep asking. Then no one has to have uncomfortable memories that with a few different words or actions could have turned into serious legal matters for all involved. Since I've never met a woman who didn't have an uncomfortable story to tell about this (even if it didn't end up with sex- maybe just too aggressive fondling or patting or pushing for more), it's clearly something men and women need to talk about more often.

[Minimalist]

The victim is never responsible.

[Zazzy]

Edit: took out my own personal experience because I just wanted to make the point that rape and sexual assault often happens in places where women don't expect to be treated that way, and by people they trust to be "safe".

I always appreciate hearing other womens' stories, and it seems there are few enough of us here. But I respect your decision to take your personal story out. I'm sorry you had a bad experience- I did, too. Kudos to us for being strong women and getting through it.

[Paraselene]

The victim is never responsible.

The problem is determining who is the real victim. Sometimes, women cry rape to get back at the man. As I stated above, rape cases are hard to determine who is telling the truth because it is a case of he said, she said.