It might be the 21st century, but there's still a tendency to blame the victim, be it for drinking or wearing a short skirt. The meme of targeting the violated as opposed to the violator has even made it into modern PSAs that are supposed to be anti-domestic violence.
We have collected eight recent ads that imply if a woman drinks or fails to cover up, then she is somehow asking for it.
The most headline-inducing recent example was when the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board released a series of posters showing a woman's legs sprawled on a bathroom floor, underwear at her ankles, with the text, "See what happens when your friends drink too much?" They were later pulled.
We've also found a few anti-rape PSAs that get the message right, so there's hope for progress.
The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board pulled this ad in 2012 after a series of complaints that it blamed the victim (and her friends) for date rape. It implies if a woman drinks, she bears responsibility for being raped.
Pensylvania Liquor Control Board
Another ad in the series read, "She didn't want to do it, but she couldn't say no." This suggests the victim's lack of control is to blame, or that not saying "no" (while catatonic) somehow leads to rape.
Pennsylvania's Liquor Control Board
The Herts police department in the U.K. was criticized for the following ad in 2012. Its accompanying website reads, "Did you know if you drink excessively, you could leave yourself more vulnerable to regretful sex or even rape?"
Here's part of the campaign geared towards men. It suggests that drinking could turn them into rapists. People complained that the booze angle made rapists and their victims seem like equivalents.
Herts Police UK
This ad by Buzzfree Prom puts a different, homophobic spin on the theme: On the accompanying web site, it says that if a guy drinks underage at prom, he deserves what happens to him if he's sent to prison. "Tonight, his dance card is going to be full because he chose to drink underage. And instead of celebrating with his class on prom night, he’ll be toasting his new best friends."
This 2008 Egyptian anti-rape PSA reads, “You can’t stop them, but you can protect yourself.” It implies that unless a woman wears very conservative clothing, it is inevitable that she will be defiled.
Blaming victims for being drunk or wearing a short skirt at the time of their assault has become the norm. This Scottish PSA lays out why that thinking is ridiculous.
Now here are some ads that got it right.
SAVEdmonton
SAVEdmonton reaches out to potential perpetrators rather than laying blame on victims.
SAVEdmonton
Quite a contrast to earlier PSAs that equate silence as consent.
SAVEdmonton
The campaign even targeted same sex couples.
SAVEdmonton
"We Can Stop It" in the U.K. is also a progressive campaign that tries to educate rape prevention starting at the source of the crime: the potential perpetrator.
