Issues with sexual assault reporting at Tufts Daily newspaper

[cazador]

This is lengthy, but I really care about this and would love people's feedback.

This week I wrote a Letter to the Editor of the Tufts daily newspaper, in response to a horrible editorial in which he asserted that some women "may choose to wear more conservative clothes if they know they're going to be walking alone late at night, or they may be

Comments

[redheadedmuse]

I'm really proud of you for speaking up.

[dreams_of_wings]

I do have LOTS of thoughts about this and look forward to talking with you about them more later this week. :)

[amadea]

I completely agree with you that the editorial in the Tufts Daily is a really good illustration of WHY it's a bad idea to report on victims' dress.The editorial goes from the (as you say) broad, fairly ambiguous implication that women wearing skirts/dresses have been targeted by this particular attacker, to make a point that women might choose to protect themselves by dressing in a more conservative way. This move on the part of the paper is a great illustration of the way in which vague, seemingly innocuous statements can quickly be transformed into behavioral suggestions. And we already know how those suggestions can become imperatives. I think the editorial shows a striking lack of concern and awareness about that process. As you say, nothing in the original police report provides any information that might actually help a woman protect herself - it's not as though the attacker were targeting people in a very specific way, in which case one *might* be able to make a better case that this information is useful to community members

[cazador]

Thanks for helping me see things better from the perspective of the Daily's editor. As much as I disagree with his Editorial, I see your point on whether the bias incident report was the best possible approach to address the student's grievances. By the time I got involved, the bias incident reports had taken on a broader context, as direct action against both the Daily newspaper's reporting (or lack of) and the Tufts' administration;s lack of response to a student's concerns. The original bias incident report, though, was targeted specifically at the Daily

[queenofhalves]

a comparison i've found useful in making this argument is that in some countries, women who go out in public without a male chaperone are said to be inviting rape. americans of course find this obviously ridiculous. they also usually find it ridiculous that in some cultures, a woman is said to be inviting rape if she goes out in public with anything but her eyes uncovered. at that point you can point out that it's taking basically the same stance to say that a woman who is wearing a short skirt is inviting rape. all three statements deny that the rapist is the responsible party. all three statements imply that it is possible to behave in a way such that you "deserve" to be assaulted, and that it is women's responsibility to curtail their own freedom in order to avoid being attacked -- as opposed to, say, the campus police's responsibility to increase security so that students can enjoy basic human rights.

good luck.

[keyne]

I'm not sure I have anything useful to add, but I appreciate your speaking up.

I do feel obliged, though, to note the irony that wearing a skirt is now considered the non-conservative choice.