Australian rape advocates denounce police for implying victims deserve blame

Rape expert slams police who said women drink too much
From The Daily Telegraph

NSW RAPE crisis experts have blasted police for claiming that fewer sex attacks would happen if women drank less.

Police in Cairns sparked controversy by speaking out on the issue, saying women need to take responsibility for their actions, get less drunk and stop wandering off with strangers.
Some victims of sex crimes in the Queensland party town were so drunk they could not remember what had happened, police said.

But Karen Willis, manager of NSW Rape Crisis Centre, was scathing in her response. “Saying that a woman is asking for or deserved it or somehow participated in sexual violence is an antiquated way of thinking,” she said. "The responsibility is totally and utterly with the perpetrator. Women should not have to spend their lives doing or not doing something to avoid sexual assault."

Earlier today, The Cairns Post reported local officers said sex attacks in the Cairns CBD could be reduced if revellers took care not to drink too much and not wander off with people they have just met.

Ms Willis said in 70 per cent of cases, the attacker is well known to the victim - being a family friend or a school friend - and alcohol isn’t a factor. "I’d be very surprised if police said the same thing if a young man had a few drinks and was sexually assaulted, that young men shouldn’t drink, yet they are quite happy to say that sort of thing when it comes to women."

She said suggesting that women somehow ask for it is a "myth" that has two roles: to blame the victim and to give the perpetrator excuses. "In no other crime do we ask ‘where was she, what was she wearing, what was she saying or doing’. What we should be asking is where the hell does he get off thinking he can do that?" she said. “I’m sure rape crisis services in Queensland would be more than happy to give police some training.”