On January 24th, during a safety information session at Osgoode Hall Law School at York University in Toronto, a police officer from the 31 division, there to give tips on keeping safe, suggested that women can avoid rape by not dressing like "sluts".
It is fucking outrageous that police officers, people society charges with the well-being and safety of their citizens (not that they are all prize pigs, necessarily -- JJ Harper, Helen Betty Osbourne, Starlight Tours, Robert Dziekanski, Robert Pickton, police brutality at the G20 in Toronto, to name just a few cases) would believe that it is a) the victim's responsibility to not get raped; b) that rapists rape because of their sexual appetite and not because of power; c) that "sluts" deserve to get raped.
Women get raped by strangers, by acquaintances, by loved ones. Women get raped while wearing a little clothing or wearing a lot of clothing. Women get raped sober, they get raped when drunk; they get raped walking alone at night and they get raped at home. Women of all ethnic backgrounds and religions, of all shapes and sizes, of all ages get raped. Women are raped in every country, every province, every state, everywhere in the world. The only thing that all raped women have in common is that in misogynistic and patriarchal ideologies, they all had it coming.
There has been a demand for an apology but nearly a month later, there still hasn't been any acknowledgment of this erroneous and dangerous and misogynistic and, fucking, denigrating suggestion.
Email the 31 Division (unit commander is Christopher White) here or snail-mail them here to let them know that we are all watching, that we are all protesting their casual rape apology and that we are all demanding an apology.
*UPDATE*
Rebekah has been in contact with the Toronto Police on Twitter and they just Tweeted this:
@grebnekkah officer will apologize & has been disciplined + #sexassault training has been revised to focus on actions of the offender ^mg
Great stuff, but still leaves a few questions. Where will he apologize and to who? What did the discipline entail? And, how was the sexual assault training set up before that it didn't focus on the actions of the offender???!!! These are questions that we are obligated to have answered as the police are public figures who's salaries are paid by taxpayers. Also, I don't know how to turn off the double spacing.
This is what I just emailed to Division 31:
ReplyDeleteThe suggestion that women shouldn't dress like sluts if they don't want to be raped, by one of your officers to a group of students at York University is completely unacceptable and the TPS and Division 31 should accept responsibility for this grievous and dangerous statement and apologize. Perhaps it is time for police officers to undergo gender sensitivity training to learn that rape is not a case of a sex-crazed maniac lurking in a back-alley, waiting for a sexy woman to walk by.
Women get raped by strangers, by acquaintances, by loved ones. Women get raped while wearing a little clothing or wearing a lot of clothing. Women get raped sober, they get raped when drunk; they get raped walking alone at night and they get raped at home. Women of all ethnic backgrounds and religions, of all shapes and sizes, of all ages get raped. Women are raped in every country, every province, every state, everywhere in the world. The only thing that all raped women have in common is that in misogynistic and patriarchal ideologies, they all had it coming.
Rape culture is one that affects all Torontonians and as police officers, charged with the safety of it's citizens, you should be leaders in working to dismantle misconceptions about rape and rape apology.
Feel free to cut and copy!
Alex and Rebekah... I am proud of both of you for speaking out about this. It seems that it is predominantly men who have this misconception about rape, and a lot of that is rooted in that rape is still often seen as a sexual act and not as an act of violence which it most definitely is. It is an act of hate and anger and is perpetrated by a criminal. Rape is a CRIME!!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Dad!
ReplyDeleteI just read this, and have two things to say:
ReplyDelete1) Rape is about POWER, not sex- sex is simply the rapist's way of showing that s/he is in control. Some of my American friends have suggested cutting off the genitals of any man (or, in the extremely-rare case, woman) who rapes, though I don't believe it does any good. Without them, they will just find other (and likely more-violent) ways to exercise their god-complexes.
2) Why does our society blame the victims, rather than the perps? I know several women who have been there, and their answer is usually something to the effect of "I was asking for it". Uh, no. It's disgusting, and totally sexist, to suggest that we women are responsible for the opposite sex's inability to control their impulses; we shouldn't have to be afraid to leave our homes, especially after dark, wearing whatever we want- a sexy outfit, or big boobs and a tiny waist, does not make someone a slut.
The onus should be on everyone not to rape, rather than men and women hoping that they don't get singled out by some misogynistic psychopath. I agree with Peter that "rape is a crime"; therefore, those who rape are dangerous criminals, and need to be stopped.
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One of my sisters goes to York U., and I'll be very sorry if she was on-hand for this officer's inane, thoughtless comment. Thanks for bringing this to our attention.
Thanks for your comment, Laura. I completely agree with what you've posted. It's mind-boggling that there are still so many misconceptions about rape and infuriating that, opposed to any other crime, the rape survivor is more responsible than her/his rapist.
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