Assigning blame to the victim of any crime is a heinous notion in itself. As recent events have shown, there is a tendency for the general population to blame victims particularly in cases of sexual assault and rape charges. Victim blaming comes in many different forms, from more subtle remarks and nuances, to direct accusations accusing the affected of lies and deceit. It is especially prevalent in the crimes mentioned above, and the ludicrous notion can be considered in the following way: a person gets pickpocketed and is then berated for carrying a wallet in his pocket in the first place. The default questioning that victims usually have to face is personal, intrusive and insensitive, despite the trials they have already faced. In Pakistan especially, whenever there is a high profile occurrence that shakes the core of the country, victims are told what they could have done to prevent the assault rather than being guided through the system to bring their perpetrators to justice.
The participation of our people in victim blaming and the acceptance of its culture is a social phenomenon dealt by women, minorities and even children to this day. Hence, the question remains, what is the essence of victim blaming and how has it become more rampant in recent times?
The notion of victim blaming is not universal in its entirety. However, the collective experiences of individuals from different backgrounds, cultures and continents leaves something to be desired for. There is always the likelihood that in cases of assault or rape, the blame will fall onto the victim. It is not always that the idea is explicit, accusatory, or direct. Often, people engage in the practice without understanding what they’re doing. Examples like telling victims that they should have done certain things to prevent the crime, or explaining to them why the crime was their fault in the first place is counterproductive and a part of victim-blaming. We often engage in this ourselves, when we hear about crimes and think that such an incident would never happen to us if we did something different.
At the core of the issue, victim blaming is systemic and stems from a number of factors. From a lack of empathy with the victims to self-preservation, it is easy to react in a negative manner towards the one affected by a crime. It is a fear reaction more or less and is beyond human control at times. However, due to the sensitivity of the matter, the instinct needs to be addressed and curtailed in a different manner.
A perspective of victim-blaming within our society is evidently seen in the recent motorway incident. The shocking rape of a woman on the motorway in front of her children took the country by storm. On 7 September, a woman drove with her children on the Lahore motorway around midnight. Her car ran out of fuel and she called the police, only to be told that the location was outside of their jurisdiction. While the victim waited for help, two men pulled her and her children out of the car, robbed her and assaulted her.
Here is the shocking factor: multiple assailants took part in the crime and even when the woman called the police for help, she was stranded and left exposed to the perpetrators. When the case came to the authorities, the police chief in charge blamed the victim on national television for driving alone at night. This is just one instance of how women and other minorities are unsafe in the country, especially under the watchful eye of a backwards system. There are thousands of cases of rape reported every single day in the country, with the majority of these incidents remaining unreported and hidden. With problems like pedophilia, incest, marital rape and discrimination, it is no wonder that the system fails to protect the victim and instead issues blame.
Citizens took to the streets to demand justice for this heinous act. Women, men and children chanted on the roads of major cities, advocating for change, and protesting against the remarks made by the police. In most sexual violence cases, an outcry on social media is needed for proper action to be taken. Where women’s rights are already contested to a great extent in the country, politicians, activities, lawyers and students have to play their part in inciting some semblance of change. The Minister of Human Rights took her stance on the matter, by saying, “For an officer to effectively blame a woman for being gang raped by saying she should have taken the GT Road or question as to why she went out in the night with her children is unacceptable & have taken up this issue. Nothing can ever rationalize the crime of rape. That’s it.”
However, despite these calls to action, the social perspective remains desolate. Rape victims become nothing but victims their entire lives, with the idea that their honor lies in the preservation of their virginities. In such a case, families seek out vigilante justice instead of turning to the authorities. At the social cost of izzat, or honor, rape victims are even blamed and coerced into marrying their rapists, which is another form of victim blaming. However, women’s rights groups are taking their concerns to lawmakers and changing perceptions around female bodies and sexuality. The Women Protection Act 2006 was a positive change in our legal system regarding rape, and it is the first step to a much needed reform.
Women do not invite rape, whatever the circumstances may be. And with more voices being raised on social medial and on the streets, there is more encouragement for them to report their experiences and seek out justice. Even if laws are made by men, the police are made of men and the courts are ruled by men, women are crafting out spaces for themselves within the system. Hence, the final conviction, and the blame of an assault, should be shifted to the perpetrator. The responsibility is always, always, with the rapist.
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