Victim 1: Thomas
“I’m here to report an assault.”
“Ok, sir, tell me what happened.”
“Well I was at O’Malley’s Pub and John hauled off and punched me in the nose, he nearly broke it.”
“So this, John person, was a complete stranger to you?”
“Well no, officer, I knew him.”
“Oh, I see and how well did you know him? Would you say you two were friends before this incident?”
“I guess you could say we were friends, at least I thought we were before he hit me.”
“Okay…and how is it that you came to see John this particular evening?”
“Well we decided to go out and have a couple drinks and watch the game on the big screen, just like we did from time to time.”
“So, Thomas by your own account, you willingly went out with John to the pub and this was an ongoing relationship. Right?”
“Yes”
“AND you were drinking alcohol.”
“Yes”
“So then you would have to agree you were a willing participant in the events. You have to take responsibility for your actions you know.”
Victim 2: Richard
“Excuse me officer, I need to report a robbery.”
“I’ll be happy to assist you. Tell me what happened.”
“I went to an ATM and this guy came up behind me and threatened to hurt me if I didn’t give him my money.”
“And did you?”
“What?”
“Did you give him your money?”
“Well yes, I did because I was afraid.”
“So you didn’t resist? You didn’t fight back?”
“No, like I said I was afraid of what he might do so I just complied.”
“And when was this?”
“Late last night…well I guess you could say early this morning.”
“Well which is it?”
“It was around 2am.”
“What were you doing out at that time of night?”
Victim 3: Harrison
“I need some help officer, I was just sexually assaulted by a group of sorority sisters.”
“Hahaha, good one. What can I help you with?”
“No seriously, I was assaulted.” “Look, I took a picture of them with my cell phone.”
“You should be so lucky; I mean those girls could do much better than the likes of you. Have you looked in the mirror?”
“Officer, I was violated and I want to file a complaint. Can you please take this seriously?”
“Ok, ok, sir, simmer down. (muttering under his breath ‘geez must be his time of the month’) So you are saying this just happened?”
“Yes!”
“And, this is what you were wearing?!”
Do you fine these scenarios ridiculous? You should…they would never happen this way…
Do you find them infuriating? Callous? Alarming? Insulting?
Well you should, because ALL of these scenarios would play out this badly or worse if the Victims were Females who had be harassed, assaulted, beaten or raped.These are the exact kind of victim blaming questions that women have to deal with.
~Melanie Thomason
2/4/2020
Wordifull 