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From: sophie@mnetor.UUCP (Sophie Quigley)
Newsgroups: net.women
Subject: Re: Re: Re: "provocative" clothing
Message-ID: <860@mnetor.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 23-May-85 10:08:03 EDT
Article-I.D.: mnetor.860
Posted: Thu May 23 10:08:03 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 23-May-85 12:13:16 EDT
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> 
> If a person wants to reduce his/her chances of being raped,
> he/she should try to be as formidable a target, as unlikely a
> victim, as possible.  This may or may not relate to provocative
> dressing.  It does relate to things like how you walk and carry
> yourself, your posture, your verbal aggressiveness, your mental
> forcefulness.  Rapists are known to spend up to 10 minutes
> sizing up potential victims before they attack.  If the victim
> does not ACT like a victim, the rapist will probably try another
> person.  Now, if the guy was just afflicted with blue balls, I
> doubt that he would behave in that manner!
> 
> Ellen Eades

While I agree with that and think that it makes perfect sense for
people not to try to act like victims, I am worried that such
analysis of he situation again throws the blame on the victim.
One should never forget that the RAPIST and nobody else is
responsible for the rape.  If grown women all learn to act tough,
then  rapists will attack people who cannot act tough, like
children or older people (I am not implying that older people
are not grown in this sentence).  There will always be people
weak enough to be attacked, so even though it is a nice idea to
teach strong people to defend themselves, this should not be
an excuse not to defend weaker people.
-- 
Sophie Quigley
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