Victim blaming in rape culture is an issue that is blind to race, sex, gender and location. It can happen to anyone, anywhere, and it is happening every single day. Victim blaming occurs when the victim of a crime is held responsible for the actions of the criminal. It is highly relevant in rape culture, which is a setting that normalizes rape and societal attitudes about gender and sex. It creates an illusion that the victim was in wrong in the situation of the crime. Perpetrators are not the only type of individuals who engage victim blaming -- bystanders, media, credible figures, and even victims participate. Victims should not be blamed for the crime of the perpetrator because it creates a biased education system, instills fear and guilt into the victim, and it gives a greater sense of empowerment to the perpetrator. Despite the fact that this issue can be resolved with the education system by altering the main goal of teaching individuals not to rape, rather than teaching individuals how to avoid rape. Ironically the root to the problem begins with the education system. Current rape education is built for all ages to 'prevent' rape and victim blaming, but it has not been effective. It needs to be implemented in a way to begin at the root of the problem, younger generations. The problem is the rapist, not the victim. Education needs to be steered to teach individuals at young ages that this behavior is not acceptable. Under the age of 17, children are the most "developmentally capable and receptive" to ideas taught by powerful figures in their lives such as parents, teachers, and counselors (The Turning Point). Victim blaming is also derived from personal feelings of individuals because it is easy to distance themselves from thinking that this crime will happen to them, when they differentiate themselves from the victim. It is a way of reassuring their self that since they are 'not like the victim' or 'will not do what the victim did' then they will not become a victim. By analyzing the issues in the education system and looking at new techniques that can be implemented into rape education programs for younger generations, it will allow individuals to begin to take action in resolving the affects of rape culture and victim blaming. 

 It is more common to find ways that advise individuals on the precautions to avoid rape, instead of starting at the root of the problem: the individual who commits rape. The consistency of teaching individuals how to avoid being raped rather than not to rape is the main issue. Many people are not aware they are contributing to victim blaming and that is very dangerous. These individuals did not receive the proper education system to teach them how rape is perceived in rape culture and the different ways victim blaming can be used. It may seem common sense to blame the individual who actually commits the wrong doing, but it is more common to see the victim get blamed in today's society. This is also due to the lack of proper education. Society has found it easy to put the blame on the victim because it states that as long are you are not doing these certain behaviors or choices then you will not be raped. When individuals differentiate themselves from the victims, then they feel as if they have a lower risk of being raped. For example, if a girl was heavily intoxicated and went home with a stranger, many people will think to themselves, "well I am responsible when I drink and I would never go home with a stranger." This allows the individual to feel secure about themselves, while putting the blame on the victim unintentionally. Society has sent a clear message that they have chosen to blame the victim with various products such as date-rape drug detecting nail polish or difficult to remove underwear. (Weiss 1). Although these products are necessary and helpful, they show that individual as a whole have accepted that rape will only be prevented through the victims and not the perpetrator. 

Rape is not a result due to the victim's clothing, actions, or words; it is a wrongful crime committed by the perpetrator. Rape is a crime in which one person has sexual intercourse with another without that person's consent (Opposing Views in Online Collection). Does this definition state that the victim was asking for it by the choice of their actions or clothing? It is important to break the cycle between the biased education systems that primarily focuses on blaming the individual by analyzing their actions and choices and their affect on rape. If this issue is continued it could cause a greater sense of empowerment to the offender, encouraging them to commit the crime again. It is not fair to attack the victim for a crime they did not commit. 

Rape culture is a complex subject that shows the evolution of society with regards rape. Rape culture is known as the normalization of sexual assaults including rape and victim blaming. Many people do not want to talk about rape and many people do not want to consider the way it is being addressed. "Rape Culture, Victim Blaming, and The Facts," derived from Connecticut Sexual Assault Crisis Service, educates the reader on what rape culture is and concentrates on showing the reader what victim blaming is. A simple list of examples of victim blaming included: sexually explicit jokes, tolerance of sexual harassment and blaming the victim ("She asked for it!"). The information given by the Connecticut Sexual Assault Crisis Services is intended for a vast audience that is not familiar that certain remarks or actions can be known as victim blaming. Although many people may know these terms, it is not common to know how they are used in victim blaming. Since many individuals are not fully aware what they are doing is victim blaming, it is important to have education sources, such as these, that teach individuals the different types of way that victim blaming can be utilized. As the education system is reformed, it would teach younger generations the different ways that victim blaming can be used and eventually begin to abolish the use of victim blaming. 

An article written by Suzannah Weiss, "Why Do People Blame Rape Victims? On the Vicious Cycle of Victim Blaming  --  And What We Can Do To Break It" presents her information in an argumentative type of style by starting off her piece with, "from date rape drug detecting nail polish to difficult to remove underwear, the message is clear: We should try harder not to get raped." Weiss addresses the physical and mental aspects that cause the on going cycle of victim blaming to prevail. Weiss reminds the readers that by blaming the victim of a crime (such as rape), it is telling the victim it is their "duty to make sure they are not assaulted". It should not be a normal thought to walk around thinking of ways to make you less vulnerable or susceptible to crimes. It should not be the victim's job to find ways to prevent rape. Each time an individual is told to "check their drink at the bar" and "pull up their shirt" it contributes to the victim blaming that has been implemented in today's society. Although all the individuals that are contributing to victim blaming are not set out to prove the victim guilty of being rape, they are not taught the proper education to eliminate victim blaming language, such as the phrases I just gave. 

I believe that victim blaming is a result due to the lack of "accurate" education that is implemented all over the world, it is taught in a way to focus on the ways of rape prevention, rather than the perpetrators actions and thought process. It can be taught to individuals by credible figures such as teachers, police or parents. A main example would be from the Sussex police in Britain, who released a poster in 2015 stating, "Many sexual assaults could be prevented; Stick together and don't let your friend leave with a stranger or go off on their own". In other words, this poster is educating the community that sexual assaults can be prevented by altering the choices of the victim. In this case, the friends of the victim would have been blamed for allowing their friend to go off with a stranger or walk alone. However, only one part of the poster was true: many sexual assaults can be prevented ...  if the perpetrators chose not to sexually assault someone. These posters should be stating, "all sexual assaults may be prevented by not raping others." It is an issue that if continued could cause a greater sense of empowerment to the offender, encouraging them to commit the crime again. It elevates the guilt and blame off the perpetrator and brings it onto the victim or in this case, the victims friends. This may begin to brain wash other individuals to thinking this is how society just works and it will begin to adapt into the social norm.

 "Offensive Feminism: The Conservative Gender Norms That Perpetuate Rape Culture, and How Feminist Can Fight Back," written by Jill Filipovic, highlights the concept that due to victim blaming, fear is being driven into individuals (especially women) and blaming the victim has become more prevalent in today's society. Filipovic states that men are "150 percent more likely to be victims of violent crimes than women are" (Filipovic 23). This shows that even though men are statistically proven to be more susceptible to crimes, such as assault, there is still a focus on educating women with precautions they can take to avoid rape. It is common to see women being told not to dress a certain way, not to walk home alone and to always watch their drink. When these education systems instill the same precautions women must take to avoid being raped it is, "sending a message that a women must be eternally on guard," causing the victim to be blamed if it happened to them. (Filipovic 24). This causes society to progress in rape culture and normalize the types of behaviors such as victim blaming. As women are being told (in this case) to be guarded and protect themselves from rapists by altering their choices and behaviors it contributes to victim blaming and rape culture. 

Similarly to Filipovic, "Lets Talk About Rape," shows how society has accepted rape as part of the social norm. It focuses on the issue that we need to evolve our education system that currently states, "don't get raped," into "don't rape." Many individuals who are the victim of rape do not report the cases due to the fear that they will be scrutinized for their actions or choices that caused them to be raped. Statistics found that there were, "31,866 reported cases in Thailand last year, which averages to 87 per day," however only 6.5% of rape cases were actually legally reported. As you read the number that is beyond imaginable already, try to approximate 93.5% more cases that were never reported. It is concerning that even with devastating statistics and the issues at hand, there is still no shock or alert to the public. It is hard for victim to step up and fight back to their rapist because they are being told everyday that rape is caused by their choices. If our young generations begin to be taught that they should not rape and the actual definition of consent, then we will be able to slowly show victims they are not the cause of rape and steer the focus towards educating younger generations in a new way.

In addition, Amy Grubb and Emily Turner tackle the main factors that play into rape culture. The main idea is showing the type of impact rape can have, substance use on victim blaming and gender role conformity. Statistics showed that only 6% of rape crimes were actually reported. It may seem 'silly' not to report a crime that was committed towards yourself, but when you are constantly told it is your fault as the victim through education systems, credible sources and society it becomes a grey area. Do you really want to put yourself in the position where the law may turn against you or your peers may turn their back on you? Victims are told that they could have prevented the crime that was committed towards them. This also plays into giving the perpetrator greater power. 

A video derived from Switzerland portrayed the impact victim blaming has on society. It shows a women looking for a skirt at a department store for a night out. The sales lady comes over to help her and the customer asks which skirt would help her have a higher chance of her being raped. As she arrives to the club, the perpetrator sees her and says, "look at that skirt, she's asking for it" (John McKay 'Skirt' Rape Crisis). This shows firsthand that individuals are not aware they are victim blaming. The women obviously did not go into the clothing store looking for a skirt that would get her raped, but the perpetrator chose to acknowledge that she was asking to be raped because of her choices in clothing. The YouTube video shows a strong message that "nobody asks to be raped" and it derives from a campaign that shows the prevalence of victim blaming. 

With a greater focus on the younger generations, it is easy to show that individuals between the ages of 18 to 25 were taught on the focus of ways to avoid rape. "Never Go Out Alone: An Analysis of College Rape Prevention Tips," conducted a study on 15 four-year universities and analyzed 494 tips, 397 of those tips were directed at women. These tips all included the general bullet points that most anti-rape education programs teach. For example, they will tell women to avoid walking home alone, watch their drinks in public places and be aware of their surroundings. It is easy to see the issues with the tips that were given from universities, each tip had a sole focus on women and altering their choices and behavior to avoid rape. This shows a majority, such as college students, professors, counselors all contributed to victim blaming in the 15 different universities. In addition, the tips were greatly focused on the women's behavior, rather than a man. These universities will need to transform their education system and "tips" by providing students an education system that is based on teaching the perpetrator that rape is wrong and teaching students the ways the victim blaming can be implanted. The tips given should be tips on how to change language and perception of the victim to avoid victim blaming  --  rather than tips on how to just avoid rape. 

Many people may agree that the education system must be changed, but do not know how to do this. "Why Do We Blame the Victims of Sexual Assault" was able to explore concepts that have a greater focus on evolving the ways individuals are being taught. Specific examples that steer towards teaching "not to rape" include the following: "don't put drugs in people's drinks in order to control their behavior, don't pretend to be a caring friend to gain their trust and assault them, and if you pull over to help someone with car problems, remember not to assault them!" (Why Do We Blame the Victims of Sexual Assault). The article gives rape case examples from all over the world, New Zealand, the U.S and Egypt, because victim blaming does not have a geographical preference. Although each country has its own unique culture, most share one common type of rape culture. As I was conducting research, it was not hard to believe I was not able to find one statistic that show the generalized statistic of how many people are affected with victim blaming. This begins with the lack of education; the grey area of the connotation and denotation of victim blaming. Many people are unaware they are contributing to victim blaming; creating a blur on the actual statistic of individual's affected. Victim blaming is not always done in obvious ways, it can be seen in vulgar jokes or comments. It is important to put yourself in the victims shoes and realize how much, "well you shouldn't have been walking alone" can hurt someone. 

Although this issue may look like it has been pushed under the rug for many years, it is finally starting to emerge. In 1990, the state of Florida passed a new law that "forbids defendants accused of assault from using a person's style of dress as motive for their actions" (New York Times). This is a huge step forward to begin decreasing victim blaming. It shows that the blame may not be placed onto the victim due to their choices and in this case the choice is their clothing. Many individuals look at how the victim contributed to the cause of rape, but with this law, it will allow protection of re-victimizing the victim in court. 

Similarly, educational programs are taking initiative to begin adjusting their systems to provide more accurate data and steer the prevention guidelines to the perpetrator. The Rape Prevention and Education Grant Program which is ran by the National Sexual Violence Resource Center is one of the programs that are beginning to realize the issues on hand of our education systems. The goal of their program is to strengthen sexual violence prevention efforts with a list of principles. The most significant part of the principle would be, "preventing first-time perpetration and victimization" which shows they key concept of starting at the root of the problem (National Sexual Violence Resource Center). It will not dismiss the issue of victim blaming and rape when young generations are being taught only the ways to avoid rape. Rape needs to be stopped at the source and this begins with instilling into the younger generations that this is an issue and that it needs to be fixed. As a society, we need to unite together to begin reforming the education system. 

Another education system that is an advocate of reforming the system is called the Turning Point. They offer a variety of services from education school programs to counseling survivors. Their education programs target teens and young adults in various settings such as middle schools, high schools and colleges. The ultimate goal of their program is to "stop violence before it begins" (The Turning Point). This provides a strong framework for the reformation of social change and norms. The program follows an Ecological Model, which provides main points that need to be addressed in prevention effects. The model consists of multiple levels of influence and proposes that behaviors may be influenced by "intrapersonal, societal, cultural and physical environment factors that work interdependently and not in isolation" (The Turning Point). 

 An opposing article I read was, "Protecting Women is Not Victim Blaming", written by Anne M. Coughlin, a professor of law at the University of Virginia. She brought up an interesting point as she said she finds a hard time finding herself wanting to point out a young women's behavior, such as getting blind drunk, that they run a very serious risk of being raped. However, she knows that if she is to say something like that some listeners will "inevitably conclude that [she] is blaming women for being rape, rather than their assailants for raping them" (Coughlin 1).  Although it is important to teach younger generations at the root of the problem, it is also important to teach the victims that since they are not fully protected adequately by the law, they still should know the dangers of rape and the ways it can be prevented. Victims that are intoxicated are targeted more than victims who have not been drinking. It is estimated that 25% American women have experienced rape and approximately one half of those cases involve alcohol consumption. (Abbey, Zawacki, Mcauslan, Buck and Clinton 1). Coughlin states that "rather than seeking to achieve gender equality by advising women that they are entitled to drink as much as men, we might consider condemning this behavior in both genders." (Coughlin 1).  Although she is somewhat supporting warning women on their behavior to constitute rape, she also is a believer of victim blaming and how gender roles play a role. Coughlin realistically looks at the harsh realities that victim blaming cannot be fully stopped, at least not for a long time. So although it is important to reform the education system, individuals should still be taught what to do in situations that have high rape risk factors. 

It is important to break the barrier and change the question from, "What did the victim do?" to "Why does the perpetrator rape?" As an evolving society, we have progressed in many aspects. Overtime, society has worked together to give women the right to vote, abolish slavery and segregation. It is important to now begin to let the victim know that it is not their fault and begin teaching individuals why it is wrong to commit these crimes. It is important to take steps in everyday occurrences to begin to eliminate victim blaming and the social norm it has become in society. We need to let the survivors know that it is not their fault and they were not the cause of the rape. The changes need to begin with the mindsets of individuals who hold onto this prejudicial attitude and cling onto the idea that the victim needs to conduct an appropriate behavior to avoid being raped. We need to hold abusers accountable for their actions; it is not justifiable in any way. It is important to focus on the perpetrators choice's, rather than the victims.

