Stop blaming victims and start changing the cultureI am disgusted at the article in Monday’s paper about rape. Let’s begin with the quote “you have to be smart and take care of yourself and not put yourself in a situation where that can happen,” which blames the student for being raped.Maybe we could show some compassion for the woman mentioned in the article. How about looking at the real issue — people shouldn’t rape — instead of victim-blaming. This is why 42 percent of survivors tell no one.I would like to acknowledge that the cases we hear about are often stranger rapes because those get adjudicated and are made public more often — however, 95 percent of the time the perpetrator is someone the woman knows. This means that pretty much every one of your safety tips would not stop the majority of rapes that occur. Instead of what the survivor could have done to prevent being raped, let’s talk about what we can all do to stop rape.For years women have been doing everything on the list, like carrying pepper spray, but the rates of rape haven’t declined. Obviously, these tips won’t prevent the vast majority of rapes. We need to work together to create a culture in which people feel confident in their abilities to intervene when they witness potentially dangerous behavior, hear sexist comments, or observe victim blaming because this all leads to our rape culture.Hold the right people accountable: perpetrators and not survivors.Krista Princesenior, psychology
Campus Forum | October 22
October 19, 2008