by Author Name Withheld 40

Created on: August 09, 2009

Rape is a heinous crime. It is a despicable violation that uses power to destroy its victim. It is the vicious act of taking away freewill, and often times it leaves a wound that may never heal.

As long as there are perpetrators of rape the argument to defend their twisted actions will continue to rage and thankfully for a growing majority of the population this argument has no foundation. Is a victim of any crime irresponsible? If you leave your window open, do you deserve to be robbed? If you carry a gun do you deserve that weapon to be used against you? I would argue no, a definite no, in any case. When a crime has been committed the responsibility lies solely with the perpetrator.

There is a deeper debate behind this question though and that leads us to discuss the way perpetrators are treated within our judicial system. It begs a question of a law that tells us we are innocent until proven guilty, and it is a shame that we should have to question this system. But to quantify innocence we need a defence and to structure that defence we sometimes need to go down questionable paths.

So a defence lawyer will argue for their client. He may even use this very form of debate. To use the victim's state of mind, their appearance or their previous history, as a device to sway the jury could be looked upon as underhanded but because this argument has been given air to breathe these things often are taken into account.

But nothing will disprove the act of rape once it has been medically proven. So to win a case based on the argument of a victims guilt seems cynical in the extreme. For the victim it is quite deplorable that they must profess their innocence. Even the word "victim" has negative connotations, to sacrifice, to be the prey, here we are placing survivors of violent crime into places that are difficult to climb out of.

We live in an educated society. The dark ages should be a distant memory. Is it not time that the question "Are some victims of rape irresponsible?" be consigned to that dim and distant past? Why should a survivor of rape have to take account for their part in a crime that has brutally damaged their life, is the initial crime not punishment enough?

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