Looks like we can cross Northern Ireland off of the list for that six-week tour de Europe we plan to take when we have both time and money—unless of course we're wearing turtlenecks and sullen looks while we visit. According to a new study, nearly half of students in the country believe that women who flirt are to blame for their own rapes.
The research, conducted by Amnesty International, found that 46 percent of young people interviewed believe that women who flirted with their attacker were partially or fully to blame for the rape, while 30 percent said that women who wear revealing clothes are "inviting" rapists to target them.
In effect, doesn't this just mean that all these kids* think rape is okay? According to Amnesty, it's evidence of a "blame culture," which, uh, seems to be a roundabout way of saying rape is okay, no?
To make matters worse, one in 10 local students believes that violence is acceptable
against a girlfriend who "nags, flirts with other men or refuses to have
sex."
Very rightfully so, Amnesty International Northern Ireland programme director Patrick Corrigan is worried. “This survey shows that there are some extremely disturbing attitudes swirling around our campuses," he said. "It’s shocking that so many students lay the blame for being raped or assaulted at the feet of women themselves. If we are going to break a cycle of violence against women in Northern Ireland, we need to start by challenging attitudes amongst students and the population at large."
*The article didn't state whether male and female students were surveyed, but we're led to believe both were.
Related:
We Need to Come Up with a New Word for "Rape Fantasy"
[Irish Times: Flirting women blamed for rape in North survey]
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