We wouldn’t have as much of a problem with what? If all potential rape victims were able to successfully defend themselves against potential rapists, then we wouldn’t have the problem of dealing with the aftermath of any actual rapes.
However, we’d still have the problem of people who want to be rapists, even if they don’t succeed at it. These people are the real problem! And nothing a potential victim does to protect him or herself changes that.
*I think there’s an important distinction here that a lot of people are missing – the difference between preventing the attempt of a sexual assault and stopping or escaping from a person who is already making the attempt.
There’s not much a potential victim (and we’re all potential victims) can do to prevent a rape attempt, other than maybe push for stricter sentencing to discourage would-be rapists. It seems strange to me that so many people seem to think otherwise. I mean, we don’t talk about how to prevent murder attempts. Like rapists, murderers can have any number of motivations and can target their victims for any number of reasons…although they’re most likely to strike people they already know. Some scenarios are more common than others, but there’s really no predicting who will be targeted or why.
Once an attempt is already in progress, or at least in the planning stages, there may be something the target can do to increase his or her odds of escape. This depends on the situation and even the wisest choices may not do any good, but it’s the only point where the target’s actions could make any practical difference. This is what self-defense classes focus on. Basic safety precautions like “don’t leave your drink unattended” or “use the buddy system” are also efforts to foil the plans of someone already intending to rape.
Contrary to our moronic friend prisoner’s claims, dressing in a particular fashion doesn’t make a teenaged girl responsible for her own rape. Clothing isn’t even going to make her a target for rape – at least not in any predictable way. I suppose there could be serial rapists who only go after women in high heels, but one that focused on women in Doc Martens is equally plausible. Clothing doesn’t make any practical difference until the rape attempt is already in progress, and only then if it affects the target’s ability to run away or defend herself. In some cases the victim may have no chance to escape no matter how practical her clothing is. But again, her clothing wouldn’t even be a factor in her odds of escape if someone weren’t already trying to rape her.
