By Alexandra Frean
Many people believe that flirting or wearing revealing clothes is an invitation to sexual predators
The poll of more than 1,000 men and women suggests that the
vast strides towards equal rights for women in the public spheres of work, pay and reproductive health have not been matched by advances in the more private field of sexual behaviour.
Women’s rights groups said that they were astounded and saddened by the findings, which appear to reflect
widespread misconceptions that women are sexually available and that some men simply cannot help themselves.
Vera Baird, MP, who heads the Fawcett Society’s Commission on Women and the Criminal Justice System, said: “We tend to blame the low conviction rate on failures in the police and judicial systems. But
if juries are thinking like this, then improving the procedures is not going to make much difference. The attitudes in this survey are glib and outdated. They implicitly mean that the guy can’t help himself.”
Jenny Watson, acting chairwoman of the Equal Opportunities Commission, said:
“There still seems to be an assumption that women are sexually available, so if a woman has gone out to have a good time, then she must want to have sex.”
Sheila Coates, the director of South Essex Rape and Incest Crisis Centre, said that
victims — who often blame themselves — are reflecting the blame they can face from society. “Most women and girls who contact us will say, ‘This was my own fault’,” she said. “That’s the mirror of what goes on in a court case.
While we have juries who are uninformed, we’re going to have rapists set free to do it again and again.”
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1880976,00.html
