I’ve been thinking about rape prevention advice lately. Not the transparently nonsensical stuff, like “don’t dress slutty” and “don’t be alone with dodgy men”, but the superficially reasonable advice like “stay aware of your surroundings” and “act as if you’re nobody’s fool”. It won’t stop someone who’s decided to rape you personally as payback for some imagined slight, but it might make you slightly safer overall.<\/p>\n
It reminds me of the advice we got during Freshers’ Week at university. I went to university in Liverpool, which has a reputation for all manner of crimes. Although I was living in an all-female hall of residence, I don’t remember any advice specifically about avoiding rape. There were some tips about not getting mugged, and advice about buying drugs (“You might have bought drugs safely in your hometown, but it really isn’t worth the risk round here”), but what sticks best in my mind is the bicycle theft paranoia they managed to instill in me.<\/p>\n
We were told stories of bicycle thieves who roamed Liverpool with bolt-cutters and vans, sweeping up any bikes that were left unlocked, or secured with only a flimsy chain, or locked wheel-to-frame. It made such a deep impression on me that I never leave my bike unless the frame is secured to a fixed object with a solid lock.<\/p>\n
These precautions don’t make my bike impossible to steal. The lock can still be picked or cut through, by someone who’s set his heart on stealing my bike. But as a theft-prevention strategy, it works because most bicycle thieves aren’t after my bike specifically. They want any bike they can get, and it’s easier to take that one over there that isn’t locked, or that one by the wall that’s only locked wheel-to-frame. Some poor sod is going to get his bike stolen, but with a bit of care I can make sure it isn’t me.<\/p>\n
I don’t know how much of that analysis applies to rape, how many rapists choose their victim based on who she is and how many choose based on the fact that she looks like an easy target. But even if the fit is perfect, if the majority of rapists are just looking for an easy target and making yourself look less of a target is a way to keep yourself safe, it’s a depressing way to see the world.<\/p>\n
Some poor girl is going to get raped, but with a bit of care you can make sure it isn’t you.<\/p>\n
Being raped is a good deal more traumatic than having your bike stolen. That’s why I can accept that my bike lock relies for its effectiveness on someone else being an easier target but can’t do the same for rape risk. If walking tall and staying alert can keep me from being raped, it’s only because someone else who didn’t walk tall enough or stay alert enough gets to suffer instead. That’s not a solution I’m comfortable with; it’s not a world I want to live in.<\/p>\n
Walking tall and staying alert is good advice, but we need more than that. I don’t have all the answers, but it would be nice to see a justice system that punished rapists effectively and protected their victims from painful intrusion into their private lives. It would be nice to see a culture that didn’t treat rape as a suitable subject for humour, a slightly off-colour subset of sex.<\/p>\n
And it would be nice to walk tall without wondering who is making an easy target to buy my safety tonight.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I’ve been thinking about rape prevention advice lately. Not the transparently nonsensical stuff, like “don’t dress slutty” and “don’t be alone with dodgy men”, but the superficially reasonable advice like “stay aware of your surroundings” and “act as if you’re … Continue reading