Don’t victim-blame women who are raped

ANC must draw line in the sand NEXT year voters will be participating in the country’s general election. I honestly do not see any formidable or credible opposition to our incumbent President Cyril Ramaphosa.

I am, however, concerned about which ANC is the president is representing.

Is it the ANC that has appeared before the Zondo Commission, exposing state capture and implicating former president Jacob Zuma, pictured, as the chief enabler, or is it the ANC of Zuma himself that is on the campaign trail, urging voters to vote for the ANC? Is this not contradictory? There is also the matter of our finance minister, who remains adamant that people must pay for e-tolls and the majority in the ANC that vehemently opposes this toll fee.

As a party the ANC must draw a line in the sand because it is wildly unreasonable to have a mixture of corrupt and honest party representation. I READ with disgust of a Durban woman’s rape ordeal in India on the front page of POST (“Durban woman’s India ‘rape’ hell”) last week.

Ashwin Trikamjee was quoted as stating: “Women, especially, need to be careful and not gullible. Women must not go out alone and must always stay in groups. They must not befriend anyone, be it men or women.”

This is pure victim-blaming in its finest form.

The comments impute that this woman’s carelessness led her to endure an unconscionable and harrowing experience that she will never forget for the rest of her life, an experience that will shape her forever.

This woman did nothing wrong. If we continue to blame women for men’s actions, we will never eradicate rape and sexual violence within our society.

This woman had no intention of hurting anyone. It was her rapists and themselves alone who possessed criminal intent.

Why should she be further traumatised through these comments and made to believe that the attack on her was somehow her fault, that she was wrong simply for being gullible?

She did nothing to incite this rape. The rapists chose to drug and rape her.

Why should women have to walk around with their freedom of person restricted?

Why are women always told to prevent rape, but men never told not to rape?

Instead of shepherding women and warning them to be more “careful”, why don’t we tell men to stop raping?

Mr Trikamjee generalises when he states that all women need to be more careful, less gullible and must not go out alone.

Why are we telling women to act differently when it is men who are in the wrong?

Unfortunately, the tentacles of patriarchy spread their sickly grip into our newspapers, which further influence how large portions of society think and view the world.

Instead of teaching women to be more careful, why don’t we drill it into men not to rape?