55 Quotes About Victim-blaming

Blaming her meant that she was at fault, that she must have done something for this to happen to her. And so it could never happen to their innocent, sweet, obedient daughters.

People may not realize the damage that they are doing by placing the blame on the victim ~ but that doesn't lessen the damage that they cause by doing it.

They were so thrilled when I said I’m a virgin,” I blurt out. “I’m so fucking stupid.”I start crying again, and Alex hands me a napkin. “You’re not stupid,” she says. “You simply don’t assume people mean you harm.”“Yeah, well.” I blow my nose loudly. “Last night that equaled being stupid.”“No, it means you’re normal,” Alex says.

Denial forces victims to retreat in lifeless existence, dieing in the shadows of buried trauma and painful memories.

Being a victim is supposed to set you free; it acquits you of any agency, any sense of responsibility to the person who did you harm. It's not your fault, they say. Leave him, they say. Nobody ever tells you what to do if leaving isn't an option.They just call you stupid. A dumb bitch.Sympathy is only meted out if you follow all ofsociety's rules for how a victim is supposed to behave.

Two-thirty comes during Testifying. It's Janine, telling about how she was gang-raped at fourteen and had an abortion.But whose fault was it? Aunt Helena says, holding up one plump finger. Her fault, her fault, her fault. We chant in unison. Who led them on? She did. She did. She did. Why did God allow such a terrible thing to happen? Teach her a lesson. Teach her a lesson. Teach her a lesson.

We mute the realization of malevolence- which is too threatening to bear - by turning offenders into victims themselves and by describing their behavior as the result of forces beyond their control.

Oddly then, in our search for meaning, we often assign victims too much blame for their assaults, and offenders too little. Our inconsistencies do not seem to trouble us, but they are truly puzzling. After all, if the offender is not to blame for his behavior, why would the victim be, no matter what she did our didn't do? Our views make sense, however, if you think that we are trying to reassure ourselves that we are not helpless and, that, in any case, no one is out to get us.

Jokes and media slurs about rape and its survivors not only desensitize the issue but also have an impact on rape conviction rates!"Widespread “myths and stereotypes” about rape victims may give jurors “preconceived ideas” that could affect their decisions in court. When victims were demonised in the media, you can see how juries would bring their preconceptions to bear."-Alison Saunders, head of the Crown Prosecution Service, UK.