Copied from several people on my friends list...

[rabidsamfan]

A lot has been said about how to prevent rape.



Women should learn self-defence. Women should lock themselves in their houses after dark. Women shouldn't have long hair and women shouldn't wear short skirts. Women shouldn't leave drinks unattended. They shouldn't dare to get drunk at all.

instead of that, how about:

if a woman is drunk, don't rape her.
if a woman is walking alone at night, don't rape her.
if a women is drugged and unconscious, don't rape her.
if a woman is wearing a short skirt, don't rape her.
if a woman is jogging in a park at 5 am, don't rape her.
if a woman looks like your ex-girlfriend you're still hung up on, don't rape her.
if a woman is asleep in her bed, don't rape her.
if a woman is asleep in your bed, don't rape her.
if a woman is doing her laundry, don't rape her.
if a woman is in a coma, don't rape her.
if a woman changes her mind in the middle of or about a particular activity, don't rape her.
if a woman has repeatedly refused a certain activity, don't rape her.

if a woman is not yet a woman, but a child, don't rape her.
if your girlfriend or wife is not in the mood, don't rape her.
if your step-daughter is watching tv, don't rape her.
if you break into a house and find a woman there, don't rape her.
if your friend thinks it's okay to rape someone, tell him it's not, and that he's not your friend.

if your "friend" tells you he raped someone, report him to the police.
if your frat-brother or another guy at the party tells you there's an unconscious woman upstairs and it's your turn, don't rape her, call the police and tell the guy he's a rapist.

tell your sons, god-sons, nephews, grandsons, sons of friends it's not okay to rape someone.

don't tell your women friends how to be safe and avoid rape.
don't imply that she could have avoided it if she'd only done/not done x.
don't imply that it's in any way her fault.
don't let silence imply agreement when someone tells you he "got some" with the drunk girl.
don't perpetuate a culture that tells you that you have no control over or responsibility for your actions. You can, too, help yourself.


If you agree, repost it. It's that important

Comments

[frodobaggins252.livejournal.com]

BRAVA! Well put - -I will post this on my LJ now

I will add to the list: If a woman says "No" she means "No"

[rabidsamfan.livejournal.com]

My standard is informed consent. If she hasn't said yes, or isn't sober, coherent, or sane enough to say yes and understand the consequences of what she saying, then it's the responsibility of the man who is sober, coherent, conscious or sane enough to understand what he's doing to keep his pants up and his zipper closed.

[elasg.livejournal.com]

I'd add something to this list - make a society were these aren't 'rules' but plain common sense.

[rabidsamfan.livejournal.com]

Oh, yeah! I'm curious as to how many guys will post this to their journals. As most of my flist is female, I'm not actually in a good position to tell.

[rubynye.livejournal.com]

*nod* I posted this to my other journal.

[rabidsamfan.livejournal.com]

Excellent. A steady drip of water does wonders eventually.

[lame-pegasus.livejournal.com]

Copied and re-posted. Thank you.

[rabidsamfan.livejournal.com]

Thank you too.

[surgicalsteel.livejournal.com]

Posted on mine earlier - but you already knew that. ;)

[rabidsamfan.livejournal.com]

Yeah. I put mine under a cut, as one of my friends was feeling bombarded by bad memories, but I still feel pretty strongly about the subject.

[surgicalsteel.livejournal.com]

Gave me bad memories, too - but I feel very strongly about the subject.

[(Anonymous)]

I would add to that list my own experience: "Don't cover a woman's mouth and rush to penetrate her when the standing ground rules excluded penetration, because you know it was agreed you shouldn't, and are sure she's going to say no if you give her the chance."

:P

[rabidsamfan.livejournal.com]

"She didn't say no" is NOT the same as "she said yes".

[unhobbityhobbit.livejournal.com]

I feel the need to add that this should be extended to all men and women, it's just as nasty for a man to do it to a man, a woman to do it to a man or a woman to do it to a woman. It's just not as high profile.

[(Anonymous)]

While true, inclusivity doesn't address the bulk of the problem. The vast majority of rapes are male on female. Neutral language makes it seem like the ratio is more half and half, and that's not going to help nearly as much as recognizing that the way to reduce the number of rapes in this culture or any other is to change the attitude of the people who do most of the raping.