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A spirit that is not afraid

OPINION: We need to put a stop to victim blaming

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A couple weeks ago, an anonymous Yik Yak user claimed a fraternity member had raped a female student.

The accusation was reportedly baseless, but the response was overwhelming. Without questioning the credibility of the original post, multiple users didn’t hesitate to blame the nonexistent victim.

Not only did they assume she was drunk, she was accused of outright lying about the incident.

This wasn’t too shocking - Yik Yak users aren’t known for their sensitivity.

However, this is not an isolated incident.

Victim blaming happens far too often, and it’s not limited to college students with too much time on their hands.

In 2012, high school football players from Steubenville, Ohio allegedly raped an unconscious teenage girl and posted the evidence to various social media sites.

According to the New York Times, members of the community were quick to defend the boys.

“The rape was just an excuse, I think,” said Nate Hubbard, a volunteer coach for Steubenville’s football team. “What else are you going to tell your parents when you come home drunk like that and after a night like that? She had to make up something. Now people are trying to blow up our football program because of it.”

Attitudes like these are careless and harmful. Despite the existence of multiple photos of the incident (many of them with hashtags like “rape” and “drunk girl”) Hubbard still couldn’t bring himself to believe the girl was a victim. Instead, he actually sympathized with her alleged rapists.

When he accused the girl of lying, Hubbard belittled rape victims and women everywhere. In his eyes, the real victim was not the girl who was raped, but his football team.

Tennis player Serena Williams spoke to Rolling Stone about the incident.

"Do you think it was fair, what they got? They did something stupid, but I don't know,” Williams said. “I'm not blaming the girl, but if you're a 16-year-old and you're drunk like that, your parents should teach you: Don't take drinks from other people. She's 16, why was she that drunk where she doesn't remember?”

Sure, the girl might have exercised poor judgment when she drank so much she blacked out.

But she was in high school. Unlike adults, adolescents are lacking life experience and can’t be expected to always make responsible decisions.

Also, most teenage boys don’t have to worry about being raped when they go out with their friends. Why are teenage girls held to a different standard?

A couple years before the Steubenville case, 20 men in Cleveland, Texas were accused of gang-raping an 11-year-old girl.

"Like the spider and the fly,” Defense Attorney Steve Taylor said of the incident. “Wasn't she saying, 'Come into my parlor, said the spider to the fly?’"

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Taylor’s willingness to compare an 11-year-old to a seductress is disturbing, and indicative of the responsibility society places on women.

This is obviously an extreme circumstance. However, women are often accused of leading men on, or “asking for it” with their behavior, clothing or whatever else someone decides equals consent.

This boys-will-be-boys mentality excuses rapists, and teaches children that it’s okay to give in to their violent urges.

Of course, men are sometimes wrongly accused of sexual assault. Just this year a woman claimed she was raped by Bright Eyes singer Conor Oberst. Later, she admitted she made the story up.

Lies like these are horrible, and capable of destroying lives.

However, we can’t allow them to affect how we view every rape victim.

As I was researching these cases, I wondered what it would be like to be in the victims’ shoes. Would I go to the police? I like to believe I would.

However, I honestly don’t know.

The backlash is horrifying. People who are brave enough to report rape have to face the possibility of ostracism from the media, their families and their friends.

It’s 2014. Why is this still an issue?

Corey Williams is the campus editor at The Auburn Plainsman. She can be reached via email at campus@theplainsman.com.


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