AWARE: 6 in 10 Singapore men believe women who flirt, dress provocatively are to blame for sexual violence

SINGAPORE: In August, AWARE (Association of Women for Action and Research), one of the leading groups focused on women's rights and gender equality, published the results of its recent survey on masculinity in Singapore.

Tellingly, a key finding from the survey is how widespread victim-blaming is. It showed that 55% of all the participants believe that a woman who dresses provocatively should be at least partly blamed if she experiences harassment. Moreover, 67% said they believe that if a woman flirts, she should bear at least some responsibility if sexual violence follows.

In a Sep 18 social media post, AWARE explained how these myths can be debunked.

“It's important to remember that victim-blaming discourages survivors from reporting and excuses sexual assault,” the non-governmental organization wrote, adding, “Fact: The only person at fault for rape is the rapist.”

Victim-blaming myths include not only those that concern how a woman behaved or dressed, but also those that hold women responsible for the results when they go out late at all. And it causes harm to victims, as well as downplays the severity of sexual violence, when the myths are perpetuated through being told in person or shared online.

“If you'd like to help end victim-blaming culture, share this post. Spread the awareness,” the group asked.

AWARE explained that victim-blaming has been called a fundamental attribution error, which means that individuals are blamed while systemic problems are ignored. A good example of this is when the poor are blamed for being lazy as opposed to examining how wealth being concentrated among the few has caused inequality.

Due to victim-blaming, men have been able to get away with sexual violence, the group added.

Myth-busting

For the myth that women who flirt should be blamed for sexual assault, AWARE wrote, “There is a big assumption that flirtation = consent.”

Consent needs to be asked for and wholeheartedly given, and can never be assumed. Furthermore, while an individual can give their consent for one act of intimacy, it does not mean they’ve done the same for others.

As AWARE noted, “No one ‘tempts’ rape.”

For the second myth, that women who are clad in provocative clothing should be responsible when they are victims of sexual violence, the group wrote that women have been victimised no matter what they’ve worn, adding that even women who have no clothes on are not asking to be assaulted.

Find AWARE’s myth-busting post here and the full results of its study here. /TISG 

Read also: Rise in child sexual assault cases in Singapore