I'm sure many of you heard of this... Back in January, one of the two policeman speaking at a safety panel at Osgood Hall (York University) here in Toronto made a suggestion.
“I’ve been told I shouldn’t say this,” instructed the audience that women should avoid “dressing like sluts” if they wanted to be safe from sexual assault.
Adrian Morrow quoted a member of the Student Government from Osgoode Hall in his article in the Globe and Mail who said that many listeners were shocked by policeman's "advice".
Truth is, the police officer is not the only one that thinks this way and it's not only men that feel this way either. It's the "well, she's dressed like that, what did you expect" type of attitude that is present in many people's opinions.
Last semester in my Introduction to Women's studies class, our discussion on one of the topics turned into a discussion on the Caribana Festival here in Toronto and how women dress during the weekend. I admit, I've seen the outfits and it is not my particular sense of style, however, what do you think people are thinking when they see women dressed the way they are during the festival? Be honest...
The topic stemmed from a documentary on Hip Hop and Women's Representation. The documentary showed women being grabbed left right and center out in public. One of my classmates expressed that when she goes out to Caribana, she doesn't "dress like that" because she knows what kind of attention it receives.
In the documentary however, women that were fully clothed were being grabbed too...
As I looked around the lecture hall, many female students were nodding, agreeing with the classmate.
My feeling was, no matter how I'm dressed, no one can touch me. I don't care if I'm wearing a bikini made of dental floss and post its to cover up my nipples. It is not a invitation for free fondling and grabbing. It's definitely not an invitation for sexual assault.
Having the attitude that a woman's attire needs to be changed in order to decrease the incidences of rape and sexual assault is BOGUS. That's right, BOGUS. Women have to change their attire and cover up because some men can't handle the visual, resulting in sexual assault?
This displaces the blame of rape and assault to women, instead of the men that rape and sexually assault women.
Does this mean that sex trade workers are allowed to be raped because they're "putting themselves at risk?" Does this mean they don't deserve justice, or equal attention from the police department? What about sex trade workers that were tricked and forced into prostitution? Since they didn't "choose" to be sex trade workers, can they be exempt from sexual assault?
What about sex trade workers that are 9...10... 11 year olds.
Does this mean that women who cover up don't get raped?
Apparently, the police officer apologized. Apparently, his comments aren't a reflection of how police officers are trained. Apparently.
So how are police officers trained? He clearly stated, "I've been told I shouldn't say this". But maybe he has selective hearing. Maybe they have some BOGUS training on women's issues and he brushed it off.
Maybe that is what he tells his daughter(s).
My father, clearly not trained by the Toronto police department on this issue, told me if any one (man or woman) is sexually assaulted, raped, or victimized in any sense... It was never provoked by the victim. The offender has issues of their own and he made it clear that society has a funny way of judging people, situations and sometimes, justice isn't justice. He says, society tends to customize who is more worthy of being a victim.
What does attire got to do... got to do with it?
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