Thread by @MichaelGLFlood

The problem of focusing on what women can do to avoid becoming rape victims
Responses to my tweets on men’s sexual violence against women, particularly by men, often focus on what women can do to avoid or escape this violence. There are 5 problems with this:
1/10

1) Women are told throughout their lives what to do to try to avoid rape.
2) If this is *all* we do, this is victim-blaming.
3) Women already use a whole range of strategies to try to lessen their risk.
4) This focus does nothing to hold perpetrators to account.
2/10

5) Perhaps most importantly of all, focusing on what potential victims of sexual violence can do to lessen their risk does nothing to *prevent violence perpetration in the first place*.
3/10

Yes, there are ways women can lessen their risk of victimisation, e.g. to detect or resist sexual coercion by a male acquaintance or partner.
Indeed, there is good evidence of the effectiveness of feminist rape education, and it's neglected in prevention: xyonline.net/books/bibliogr…

But prevention efforts, and community and media discussion, *should not* focus only on how potential victims can avoid or resist sexual violence.
There is a pervasive unwillingness in our culture to locate the problem of sexual violence with the perpetrator.
5/10

The emphasis on what women should do to avoid rape is based on victim-blaming, but also on:
-- Underestimation of how common sexual assault is
-- An assumption that the men who rape are a tiny minority (they are not: see pp. 23-28 of ), and
6/10research.qut.edu.au/centre-for-jus…

-- A belief that rape is the expression only of individual pathology or sexual desire.

Here are the facts.
-- Substantial numbers of women suffer sexual assault.
-- Large minorities of men have perpetrated sexual assault – it’s likely that at least one man you know has done so.

And rape is the entirely predictable outcome of common norms of gender and sexuality (male sexual entitlement, sexism, etc)
For reviews of the causes or drivers of sexual violence, see
-- This report, pp. 36-42:
-- This review:
8/10research.qut.edu.au/centre-for-jus…
xyonline.net/sites/xyonline…

If we *actually* want to reduce men's rape of women in the first place, we need to change the norms, conditions and inequities that make rape more likely
The good news is, there is evidence that *it is possible to prevent* sexual assault
Key reviews here: xyonline.net/content/preven…

And, men have a positive and vital role to play. See here for practical tips on what men can do in our everyday lives to make a difference:
See here for broader discussion of men’s roles in violence prevention:
10/10 ENDxyonline.net/content/what-m…
xyonline.net/content/engagi…

... I'm wishing I had included these graphics somewhere.

And this fabulous poster on '10 Top Tips to End Rape'.