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A judge in Canada called a rape victim “stupid” and “naive” because she got into a car with a man who offered to take her to a bus station, but instead drove her to a cemetery and brutally raped her. While the judge did sentence the rapist with 3 1/2 years in prison, he took the opportunity during sentencing to blame the victim for her foolishness.

Now, none of the articles I have found say whether or not the survivor knew the man who raped her, but regardless, she shouldn’t be blamed for the fact that she was raped. This is just as bad as saying it’s her fault for getting raped because she wore a short skirt or had cleavage the night she was attacked. You cannot blame the victim for the circumstances surrounding their attack. They are not wearing a sign that says “I KNOW, I’M ASKING FOR IT. PLEASE RAPE ME.” And for the old school chauvinists who still think that being sexy means you’re asking for sex (even though you may say “no” when it’s forced down your throat or into your vagina), take a look at it this way: it’s a young Asian American woman’s fault for being raped because she happened to be Asian American and she bumped into a man at the coffee shop, who later rapes her because he has a fetish for Asian American women and dominating them.

Or, even more obvious, if a woman was completely incapacitated (either from drugs, drinking, or being drugged while drinking) and running down the street naked and was raped, it wouldn’t be her fault. In every single one of these situations the victim is not to blame.

Asshole judges like this are why so few rape cases are reported, and even fewer go to trial. This is almost as bad as the rape case in the US earlier this year where no one in the trial could say “rape”, “assault”, or “victim” and the jury DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT IT.

And to think all this time I’ve been praising Canada for it’s awesome-ness and non United States-ness and wanting to move there… and then they go and get some asshole judge (cough - ALITO - cough) who screws up everything.

[Image from Peace Over Violence]