"Victim-Blaming and Shaming," brought to you by Lincoln University (PA) President Robert R. Jennings
A YouTube clip was just released of a speech Lincoln University (PA) President Robert R. Jennings gave at the university's annual women-only convocation a month ago, which is causing quite the stir.
During this controversial speech, Jennings made the following comments:
- "We will use you up, if you allow us to use you up (referring to women). Well, guess what? When it comes time for us to make that final decision, we're going to go down the hall and marry that girl with the long dress on. That's one we're going to take home to mama."
- "You know I'm right about it (about women making false rape accusations)."
- "We have, we had, on this campus last semester three cases of young women who after having done whatever they did with the young men, and then it didn't turn out the way they wanted it to turn out -- guess what they did? They went to [the university's Department of] Public Safety and said, 'He raped me.'"
- "So then we have to do an investigation. We have to start pulling back the layers and asking all kinds of questions, and when we start trying to collect the data and ask the questions -- and why do we do that? Because we know that possibly somebody's life is getting ready to change for the rest of their life."
- "I'm saying this because, first and foremost, don't put yourself in a situation that would cause you to be trying to explain something that really needs no explanation, had you not put yourself in that situation."
In response to President Jennings' comments, Chester County defense attorney Tom Hogan said:
"His comments sound like that of a criminal defense lawyer from about 1850. First, he blames the victim. Second, he asks victims not to report. And third, he sings a sad song about the defendants."
Robert Langley, head of the faculty union at Lincoln, also made his views known about President Jennings' controversial speech, saying the following:
"Sometimes a woman will become intoxicated at a party and/or dress provocatively. However, that does not entitle a man to their body without their consent. It does not. No means no."
To put it lightly, I'm getting a little fed up with men victim-blaming and shaming women with regard to rape and sexual assault. The question shouldn't be, "Well, what was the victim wearing?" or "Was the victim flirting with the guy at all?" No, the question should be, "Who raped/assaulted who?" or "Who's the criminal in the case and who's the victim?"
With his comments, President Jennings seems to insinuate that: Women are at fault for being victims of rape and sexual assault; unless they want to be blamed and shamed, they should keep their mouths shut about such occurrences; and even if they speak out about them, in his mind, they're probably lying.
A ten-year study was released by Northeastern University which showcased that just 5.9% of rape claims were false. So, while President Jennings may be accurate in saying that there are some false rape allegations, the vast majority of them are true, and that's discounting all such cases which go unreported by the victims.
It's about time that we, as a society, stopped focusing our attention on sexual assault victims and what they could have done differently to have prevented such a crime, and instead focus our attention on the perpetrators of these despicable acts, and attempt to find a way to decrease the quantity of such cases.
Victim-blamer: "Well, she shouldn't have been wearing that showy outfit, gotten drunk, or flirted with him."
Me: "No, he shouldn't have raped/assaulted her. Period."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/10/lincoln-university-rape_n_6133672.html
During this controversial speech, Jennings made the following comments:
- "We will use you up, if you allow us to use you up (referring to women). Well, guess what? When it comes time for us to make that final decision, we're going to go down the hall and marry that girl with the long dress on. That's one we're going to take home to mama."
- "You know I'm right about it (about women making false rape accusations)."
- "We have, we had, on this campus last semester three cases of young women who after having done whatever they did with the young men, and then it didn't turn out the way they wanted it to turn out -- guess what they did? They went to [the university's Department of] Public Safety and said, 'He raped me.'"
- "So then we have to do an investigation. We have to start pulling back the layers and asking all kinds of questions, and when we start trying to collect the data and ask the questions -- and why do we do that? Because we know that possibly somebody's life is getting ready to change for the rest of their life."
- "I'm saying this because, first and foremost, don't put yourself in a situation that would cause you to be trying to explain something that really needs no explanation, had you not put yourself in that situation."
In response to President Jennings' comments, Chester County defense attorney Tom Hogan said:
"His comments sound like that of a criminal defense lawyer from about 1850. First, he blames the victim. Second, he asks victims not to report. And third, he sings a sad song about the defendants."
Robert Langley, head of the faculty union at Lincoln, also made his views known about President Jennings' controversial speech, saying the following:
"Sometimes a woman will become intoxicated at a party and/or dress provocatively. However, that does not entitle a man to their body without their consent. It does not. No means no."
To put it lightly, I'm getting a little fed up with men victim-blaming and shaming women with regard to rape and sexual assault. The question shouldn't be, "Well, what was the victim wearing?" or "Was the victim flirting with the guy at all?" No, the question should be, "Who raped/assaulted who?" or "Who's the criminal in the case and who's the victim?"
With his comments, President Jennings seems to insinuate that: Women are at fault for being victims of rape and sexual assault; unless they want to be blamed and shamed, they should keep their mouths shut about such occurrences; and even if they speak out about them, in his mind, they're probably lying.
A ten-year study was released by Northeastern University which showcased that just 5.9% of rape claims were false. So, while President Jennings may be accurate in saying that there are some false rape allegations, the vast majority of them are true, and that's discounting all such cases which go unreported by the victims.
It's about time that we, as a society, stopped focusing our attention on sexual assault victims and what they could have done differently to have prevented such a crime, and instead focus our attention on the perpetrators of these despicable acts, and attempt to find a way to decrease the quantity of such cases.
Victim-blamer: "Well, she shouldn't have been wearing that showy outfit, gotten drunk, or flirted with him."
Me: "No, he shouldn't have raped/assaulted her. Period."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/10/lincoln-university-rape_n_6133672.html
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