Argumentative Essay On Victim Blaming

When it comes to consent the term, “No.” should always mean exactly that; regardless of sexuality, race, level of intoxication, or gender. In a new California State law created it is stated that only, “Yes means yes,” (Chappell) when defining sexual consent. So if it is predominantly known that only by verbally stating the word ‘yes’ is it considered consent; why does victim blaming occur so often? In cases of rape crimes, there is often a large movement of people toward the support of placing the blame on the shoulders of the victim instead of the abuser. Shifting the blame onto the victim can have a number of adverse effects, not just onto the victim but of other victims as well. That blame needs to be shifted off of the victim and onto …show more content…
Though this does not make it any less wrong to blame the victim, it offers up a reason as to why victim blaming could seem almost ingrained in our country 's culture and media. Victim blaming in modern times is apart of a stigma deep ingrained in our culture: rape culture. “Rape Culture is an environment in which rape is prevalent and in which sexual violence against women is normalized and excused in the media and popular culture.”(CONNSACS) As seen from said quote rape culture promotes the degradation of women and their bodies by objectifying them and glamorizing sexual violence. The rape of one women is a violation of all women and by promoting and glamorizing such violence it creates an environment in which women live in perpetual fear. A place where women are not only afraid to be anywhere alone but also afraid to express themselves openly. Rape functions as a means to clump the whole female population in a subordinate role, promoting the cycle of fear. A cycle of fear where even though many men dont rape and many women are not victims of such violence; few don’t live in fear that such violence lay right around the …show more content…
A reason many people victim blame is because victim blaming is a defense mechanism. Some people do not even consciously register that they are actually hurting the victim with what they say. By blaming the victim the person distances themselves from the crime, verifying to themselves that they are invulnerable to such actions. It allows them to view the victim as different than themselves, that they put themselves in that situation and therefore are being ‘punished’ for their