We write this collective letter to address April Bradick's DKS letter of 2/23/2000, which serves to reinforce widely held and dangerous rape myths. While we agree that there is a current reality which forces women to take many of the precautions laid out in the article (For instance, there will be a weekend of self-defense workshops on March 4 and 5 in the Rathbun room of Tri-Towers. For more information, contact the Women's Resource Center at (330) 672-9230.), we do not see this as any type of solution. A solution would entail an end to this war against women, not just suggestions for individual women to follow.
Any woman who goes out at night, drinks, or flirts does not ask for unwanted sexual advances. The only person who makes the conscious choice to take away their victim's rights and enacts this most heinous act of violation is the attacker. Must every woman wear a sign when she goes out to clear up any misconceptions that "By the way, my drinking, flirting, aloneness, etc. is not an invitation to rape me"? The ideology laid out in your article, April, removes any responsibility that men have to respect a woman's right to live as she wishes.
We should also acknowledge the fact that many women cannot avoid going out late at night. What of the woman who must work a third shift job? What of the woman who lives with her attacker? Eighty-five percent of all sexual assault is perpetrated by an acquaintance. Just as James Byrd cannot be blamed for being murdered based on the fact that he was black, or Matthew Shepard was murdered based on the fact that he was gay, women cannot be blamed for an attack that is perpetrated because she is a woman. We must look at why the attacker feels they have the right to dominate and attack.
Women deserve the right to a future free of attack. It is our responsibility to work towards a day when women can live as they choose. Sexual assault is never, ever the fault of the survivor. Similar to your comment, MEN ARE NOT HELPLESS. We must encourage men to confront, discuss, and expose rape myths. We must hold men responsible for their actions, because, ultimately, men are the only ones who can stop the phenomenon of rape. So in response to April Bradick's letter, the only solution for a future free of sexual assault is to shift the focus from the victim to the perpetrator, to realize that rape is a crime that affects all of us in some way, regardless of our race, class, gender and sexual orientation, and to work towards a society based on accountability, responsibility and mutual respect.
Women's Movement Network
May 4 Task Force
Student Anti-Racist Action
Lesbian Gay Bisexual Union
Students for a Free Tibet
Coalition for Animal Rights and the Environment
American Civil Liberties Union
Amnesty International
Common Ground
Students Eliminating Environmental Destruction
Contact Person for Women's Movement Network:
Angela Beallor,
Sophomore
Photo Illustration,