Victim blaming still exists in sexual assault cases: poll

HALIFAX – Maritime organizations that work with victims of sexual violence say a culture of victim blaming still persists.

This comes after a new poll revealed one in five Canadians believe that women may provoke or encourage sexual assault by being drunk.

The survey also found 15 per cent of people thought women provoked sexual assault by flirting, while 11 per cent believed wearing a short skirt might encourage it.

“The message is… if she is going to behave in the way that she’s behaving, then you have a right to access her body, which is a very frightening message to be sending to our young boys,” said Irene Smith, Executive Director of the Avalon Sexual Assault Centre in Halifax.

Smith said the consequences of this notion can also be dangerous.

Many of the women Avalon helps often express they feel society blames them for the assault.

“The consequence of that, of course, is some long-term psychological and emotional difficulties, including depression and isolating yourself and suicide,” Smith told Global News.

The poll was conducted by the Canadian Women’s Foundation, a charity that supports women’s groups — including Avalon.

“Canadians must stop questioning and blaming sexual assault victims and start asking why some men rape women,” Anu Dugal, from the Canadian Women’s Foundation, said in a release.

The idea of victim blaming in sexual violence cases was recently brought to the forefront by the death of Rehtaeh Parsons.

The Nova Scotia teen committed suicide after an alleged sexual assault.

Photos of the alleged assault were circulated in her school, and her parents have said she often expressed frustration no one believed her story.

“The fact that people can think that there is ever an instance where a person is provoking a sexual assault is profoundly troubling,” said Jude Ashburn, an outreach co-ordinator with Dalhousie University’s South House Sexual and Gender Resource Centre.

“With the death of Rehtaeh Parsons, we’re all focusing on ‘How did we all as a culture fail her?’ and how do we continue to fail survivors of assault,'” Ashburn explained.

Ashburn said society must go beyond the findings of this poll – and continue discussions on how to educate youth about consent and sex.

“Get consent when someone’s sober,” Ashburn said. “If you don’t have it, go away. Leave them alone.”