A tone-deaf Schneider column

Christian Schneider’s Sept. 26 column, “Taking precautions isn’t blaming the victim,” presents a tone-deaf narrative around sexual and physical assault — and reinforces the very culture that perpetuates sexual assault.

To Schneider I ask: Will self-defense save the person assaulted at gunpoint? Will kick-boxing save the child who is sexually assaulted by a parent or caregiver?

The majority of assaults and rapes are not attacks by strangers. And the least talked about, but most common, form of sexual violence is sexual assault of a child. In cases of child sexual assault, 86% of perpetrators are parents or relatives. It is hard to teach a small child to protect themselves from the people they trust most.

There is nothing wrong with selfdefense classes. But these strategies only protect individuals from (maybe) becoming victims. And they only distract from the real problem: Perpetrators targeting and sexually abusing, assaulting or raping people.

To address drunken driving we don’t teach sober drivers evasive maneuvers on the road. Instead, we work to stop people from driving after drinking and to create a culture where drunken driving is not acceptable.

Rape is an issue of power and control. Preventing rape and sexual assault will take more than just teaching some individuals how to defend themselves.

Educating the community about all forms of sexual violence, prevention programming for all gender identities, techniques for bystander intervention and appropriate non victim-blaming responses to sexual violence is the only comprehensive way to tackle this very serious issue in our community.

Dawn Helmrich Sexual Assault Subcommittee City of Milwaukee Commission on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Milwaukee