But rapists are people, not forces of nature. And the particular worrying about environmental risk that comes out as “Don’t dress too sexy” increases the getting-away-with-it-even-when-caught risk much more than it decreases environmental risk.
Plus, it emboldens the let’s tolerate the local rapist vibe that makes reporting a rapist you know so much more difficult. Rapists aren’t just environment. They are people in a community that the community needs to address directly—hard as that is.
Rapists aren’t just environment. They are people in a community...
As I said, I think these are two separate issues. From the point of view of a woman who is planning her night out, rapists are as environmental as blizzards, because there’s absolutely nothing she can personally do to reduce their numbers in the short term. However, in the long term, that same woman could sponsor legislation and/or community measures aimed at making rape easier to report and harder to perpetrate.
Similarly, a skier who is planning his cross-country trip can’t do anything in the short term to make the weather milder or the road safer. However, in the long term, he could sponsor the construction of additional cell towers, emergency shelters, ranger stations, etc., to make skiing safer for everyone.
Sure.
But rapists are people, not forces of nature. And the particular worrying about environmental risk that comes out as “Don’t dress too sexy” increases the getting-away-with-it-even-when-caught risk much more than it decreases environmental risk.
Plus, it emboldens the let’s tolerate the local rapist vibe that makes reporting a rapist you know so much more difficult. Rapists aren’t just environment. They are people in a community that the community needs to address directly—hard as that is.
As I said, I think these are two separate issues. From the point of view of a woman who is planning her night out, rapists are as environmental as blizzards, because there’s absolutely nothing she can personally do to reduce their numbers in the short term. However, in the long term, that same woman could sponsor legislation and/or community measures aimed at making rape easier to report and harder to perpetrate.
Similarly, a skier who is planning his cross-country trip can’t do anything in the short term to make the weather milder or the road safer. However, in the long term, he could sponsor the construction of additional cell towers, emergency shelters, ranger stations, etc., to make skiing safer for everyone.
There’s no particular reason to think stranger rape is more frequent than acquaintance rape. The opposite appears to be true.
Focusing on an infrequent type of rape while ignoring more comment types does not seem aimed at decreasing the frequency of the problem.
I think most people were assuming you don’t know the rapist in this case.
Not a very sturdy assumption. That’s true in a minority of cases.