Summary: Officials in the country of India are telling female travelers not to wear skirts while visiting. In a welcoming gift given to tourists there is a list of "Do's and Don'ts" that people are suggested to follow. One of the recent additions to this list says that women should not wear skirts. This is due to a series of sexual assaults that have been reported by travelers. This advice has received serious backlash because of it's "victim blaming" nature. People feel instead of making women change their clothing, they should stop the people attacking them. The fact is India is not equipped to handle the crimes, even though they have created and passed more laws on rape and sexual assault. The tourism minister has tried to fix the situation, but the damage is done.
Analysis: I think the tourism ministry had good intentions when giving that notice, but it was taken very out of context. I agree that victims should no be blamed for sexual assault, but I don't that's what they were trying to say. I think they were just trying to do the best they can in a very serious and dangerous situation. I believe the officials are in way over their heads, and need some help in the PR department.
Synthesis: This situation is all too familiar to women in this country, and all over the world. Victims of sexual assault are often blamed for their attacks because of how they dressed, how much they had been drinking, and how they behaved before hand. The fact is no means no. As soon as a women does not consent to a sexual situation, that should be it. Period. Sadly there are people in this world who don't agree, and use this to keep victims quiet. It's an epidemic that needs to be stopped.
http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/29/asia/india-skirt-safety-advice-women-trnd/index.html
Thats insane. I have never heard of that before. It is for everyones safety so I understand.
ReplyDeleteIndia is almost constantly in the spotlight for its issues with sexual assault and the commonality of the occurence. The victims span from five year old, helpless girls to elderly women, meaning that every female is at risk. We should not have to live in a world where we should be afraid every time we walk outside. In my opinion, India, as well as the rest of the world, needs to do some serious advertising to let women know that if they are the victims of sexual assault, it is not their fault.
ReplyDeleteIt's kind of crazy that the tourists are the ones being told this. I'm sure, like you said, they're trying their best, but what about the women already living in India? I agree that sexual assault should not be taken lightly, but I still feel there can be more done. The laws they passed do not seem to be stopping anyone, so do they really think they're helping?
ReplyDelete-ANNA CZYZEWSKI
This is terrible thing, and i realize that India is only trying to help those women, but the message came across wrong.
ReplyDeleteI honestly believe that India did not mean anything they said maliciously or harmfully. However, even with the best of intentions, the way they worded these warnings was poor, and could easily be construed as victim shaming.
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