Briton's Startling Attitudes On Rape
Simon Ware, West Midlands Amnesty International | 21.11.2005 22:09 | Birmingham
WEST MIDLANDS AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL ISSUE LOCAL CALL AFTER NEW POLL FINDS A THIRD OF PEOPLE BELIEVE WOMEN WHO FLIRT PARTIALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR BEING RAPED
ICM Poll Shows Widespread Ignorance Of Extent Of Rape And Low Conviction Rates
West Midlands Amnesty International is calling on people in the region to support Amnesty International’s ‘Stop Violence Against Women’ campaign after the organisation published a new ICM opinion poll showing that a third (34%) of people in the UK believe that a woman is partially or totally responsible for being raped if she has behaved in a flirtatious manner.
The poll, ‘Sexual Assault Research’, published yesterday (21 November), shows that similar “blame culture” attitudes exist over clothing, drinking, perceived promiscuity, personal safety and whether a woman has clearly said “no” to having sex.
For instance, more than a quarter (26%) of those asked said that they thought a women was partially or totally responsible for being raped if she was wearing sexy or revealing clothing, and more than one in five (22%) held the same view if a woman had had many sexual partners. Around one in 12 people (8%) believed that a woman was totally responsible for being raped if she’d had many sexual partners.
Similarly, more than a quarter of people (30%) said that a woman was partially or totally responsible for being raped if she was drunk, and more than a third (37%) held the same view if the woman had failed to clearly say “no” to having sex. Changes in the law relating to consent mean that an alleged rapist must prove that they had taken reasonable steps to ensure that the other person had consented to sex. The poll exposes worrying a gap between the law and public attitudes.
West Midlands Amnesty International spokesperson Simon Ware said:
“This poll shows that a significant proportion of the public is disturbingly inclined to blame women themselves for being raped. After hearing about this shocking new poll we want local people to support our campaign to press the government for more action to combat rape and change underlying attitudes to sexual violence.”
The poll also shows that the vast majority of the British population has no idea how many women are raped every year in the UK, with 96% of those polled saying they either didn’t know the true extent of rape or that they thought it was far lower than the true figure. Only 4% of respondents even thought rape numbers exceed 10,000 per year when the true figure is likely to be well in excess of 50,000. (1) Six out of seven people either said they didn’t know that only 5.6% of rapes reported to the police currently result in conviction or believed the conviction rate to be far higher. (2) The average estimate was of a 26% conviction rate, nearly fives times higher than the actual rate.
Simon Ware added:
“In addition to uncovering disturbing attitudes over women being ‘to blame’, this poll also reveals the scale of public ignorance of the shockingly high numbers of women raped every year in the UK as well as the dreadfully low conviction rates
“The government has an international duty to prevent this gross human rights violation yet it’s clear that the government’s policies on tackling rape are failing and failing badly. These findings should act as a wake-up call to the government to urgently tackle the triple problem of the high incidence of rape, low conviction rates and a sexist blame culture.”
ENDS
Note to editors
ICM interviewed a random sample of 1,095 adults aged 18+ by telephone between 7-9 October 2005. Interviews were conducted across the country and the results have been weighted to the profile of adults. ICM is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules. Further information: www.icmresearch.co.uk
(1) The British Crime Survey 2001 indicates that there were at least 47,000 female victims of rape in England and Wales in 2000. This figure did not include Scotland or Northern Ireland and did not take account of legislation (Sexual Offences Act 2003) broadening the definition from anal/vaginal penetration to include oral penetration.
(2) Home Office Research Study 293: A gap or a chasm? Attrition in reported rape cases (February 2005).
Amnesty International media information:
Simon Ware, Regional Media Officer
media@wmai.org.uk
07799 512 906
West Midlands Amnesty International is calling on people in the region to support Amnesty International’s ‘Stop Violence Against Women’ campaign after the organisation published a new ICM opinion poll showing that a third (34%) of people in the UK believe that a woman is partially or totally responsible for being raped if she has behaved in a flirtatious manner.
The poll, ‘Sexual Assault Research’, published yesterday (21 November), shows that similar “blame culture” attitudes exist over clothing, drinking, perceived promiscuity, personal safety and whether a woman has clearly said “no” to having sex.
For instance, more than a quarter (26%) of those asked said that they thought a women was partially or totally responsible for being raped if she was wearing sexy or revealing clothing, and more than one in five (22%) held the same view if a woman had had many sexual partners. Around one in 12 people (8%) believed that a woman was totally responsible for being raped if she’d had many sexual partners.
Similarly, more than a quarter of people (30%) said that a woman was partially or totally responsible for being raped if she was drunk, and more than a third (37%) held the same view if the woman had failed to clearly say “no” to having sex. Changes in the law relating to consent mean that an alleged rapist must prove that they had taken reasonable steps to ensure that the other person had consented to sex. The poll exposes worrying a gap between the law and public attitudes.
West Midlands Amnesty International spokesperson Simon Ware said:
“This poll shows that a significant proportion of the public is disturbingly inclined to blame women themselves for being raped. After hearing about this shocking new poll we want local people to support our campaign to press the government for more action to combat rape and change underlying attitudes to sexual violence.”
The poll also shows that the vast majority of the British population has no idea how many women are raped every year in the UK, with 96% of those polled saying they either didn’t know the true extent of rape or that they thought it was far lower than the true figure. Only 4% of respondents even thought rape numbers exceed 10,000 per year when the true figure is likely to be well in excess of 50,000. (1) Six out of seven people either said they didn’t know that only 5.6% of rapes reported to the police currently result in conviction or believed the conviction rate to be far higher. (2) The average estimate was of a 26% conviction rate, nearly fives times higher than the actual rate.
Simon Ware added:
“In addition to uncovering disturbing attitudes over women being ‘to blame’, this poll also reveals the scale of public ignorance of the shockingly high numbers of women raped every year in the UK as well as the dreadfully low conviction rates
“The government has an international duty to prevent this gross human rights violation yet it’s clear that the government’s policies on tackling rape are failing and failing badly. These findings should act as a wake-up call to the government to urgently tackle the triple problem of the high incidence of rape, low conviction rates and a sexist blame culture.”
ENDS
Note to editors
ICM interviewed a random sample of 1,095 adults aged 18+ by telephone between 7-9 October 2005. Interviews were conducted across the country and the results have been weighted to the profile of adults. ICM is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules. Further information: www.icmresearch.co.uk
(1) The British Crime Survey 2001 indicates that there were at least 47,000 female victims of rape in England and Wales in 2000. This figure did not include Scotland or Northern Ireland and did not take account of legislation (Sexual Offences Act 2003) broadening the definition from anal/vaginal penetration to include oral penetration.
(2) Home Office Research Study 293: A gap or a chasm? Attrition in reported rape cases (February 2005).
Amnesty International media information:
Simon Ware, Regional Media Officer
media@wmai.org.uk 07799 512 906
Simon Ware, West Midlands Amnesty International
e-mail:
media@wmai.org.uk
Homepage:
http://www.wmai.org.uk
Comments
Hide the following 2 comments
Women are not property
22.11.2005 10:34
The absolutely essential difference here is that when the perpetrator comes to trial, the defence doesn't get to argue that 'my client just couldn't help stealing those things', and the judge doesn't say to the thief, "well, the victim left their door open/their bag unzipped/their phone was in full view on the dashboard, so it's entirely understandable that you felt the urge to take advantage of that, so I'm not going to be too hard on you, hell, anyone of us would have done the same. Next case!".
Nuff said.
But note the way that women - their bodies and their sexuality - are being compared with property or things in that sort of argument. The same way that the rapist dehumanises their victim.
When people are robbed or burgled they usually feel violated. People around them are sympathetic and supportive and want to see the perpetrator brought to account.
Well, that's exactly how family, friends and community should rally round a victim of rape, who has been bodily violated. But instead the all too common reaction can be to look for reasons why the victim was raped.
12687 rapes reported to the police in 2004/5. Only 6% of those result in convictions. The police estimate that only 15 percent of rapes are reported to them - that makes a potential total of 85,000 rapes in a year.
So, that's 85,000 men who acted on the delusion that sex is something they take when they want, and that women are there for the taking (and most them got away with it, only a few hundred get convicted, the rest are still walking around free); and 85,000 rape survivors - women, men and children - who live with the trauma for a long, long time: depression, self-harm, anxiety, nightmares, and have to slowly recover their ability to trust other people and to recover their self-respect towards their own body and their own sexuality. Their mental health, their relationships and their jobs WILL suffer.
Colchester Rape Crisis Line: Short and Long Term Effects of Rape and Sexual Assault
Rape survivor interviewed by BBC news website:
Recommended book: "Trauma and Recovery: the aftermath of violence--from domestic abuse to political terror" by Judith L. Herman
anon
Be realistic
28.11.2005 05:10
Does this mean that every woman who doesn't explicitly say "Yes, I consent to sex" has been raped. Clearly rubbish.
In addition, if someone walks down a dark alley with a mobile phone or laptop and gets mugged, people are going to say it shouldn't happen but you need to live in the real world and take precautions.
Hand wringing or screeching about the realities of the world won't stop nasty things from happening. Nor will Amnesty International doing phone polls and publishing their "shocking" results. Presumably, many women took part in this poll and held some of these views.
What's more the reliability of some of the women who scream rape is more than a bit suspect. Take the recent drunk student who couldn't remember if she consented or not. I rest my case.
Realist