Is a woman partly to blame if she is raped after drinking?

Question

From the BBC website ~

A rape victim who was told her compensation would be cut because she had been drinking has had the decision overturned.

The 25 year odl was raped after a night out, had been told the standard £11,000 award would be cut by 25 per cent.

But her lawyer successfully argued it was wrong to regard alcohol consumption as a contributing factor in rape cases.

Answer 1

I can sort of see both sides of this argument..

after drinking excessive amountd of acohol, she could have been acting provocativly towards that man directly, and the morning after, how is she to know whether or not the s*x was consentual at the time? Theres no way of knowing whether you said, yes, then changed your mind etc - he's too drunk to pick up you don't want to. Sort of far fetched i know, but it's sort of possible i guess.

but then, how is it the womans fault, should she have been wandering home and came across a dark stranger who was more than willing to take full advantage of her woozy state. Would this man have done it even if she were sober? maybe, maybe not. but the point is, men will take advantage,and hope she won't remember. This can't be the womans fault surely.

Answer 2

This is touchy subject to be sure and it's not as black and white as some people want it to be.  Here is the ultimate example: a woman goes out dressed in scanty clothes, she drinks at a bar and teases men, she goes home with one and they get in bed but after penetration she suddenly "changes" her mind.  The man is confused and thinks the lady is just trying to be coy.  After the dirty deed is done she cries "rape."   Who is right and who is wrong?  What if it was your son who is involved?  Is it truly rape?

Answer 3

I dont think that a woman or a man is a to balme for being raped!

Every one has a resonsibility to protect themselves from becoming vulnerable. Especially when drinking.

I would say that if someone is raped whilst drunk then they need to become more aware of how much they limit themselves (or not) and to be aware of how vulnerable they can be. Vulnerablility can come about in many ways. Drinkin or whilst drunk can limit choices in that we are less able to make informed and rational choices, therfore making us vulnerable.

It is those who pray on the vulnerablities who are to blame for exploiting weaknesses. however we can all take responibility for ourselves and if we care about others, we can choose to do the right thing and protect them! like putting them in a cab!

My missus was drunk and apparently spiked once, luckily someone spotted her and put her in a cab which was just as well as others wouldnt have done!

Answer 4

Does the alcohol make her responsible? No.  Is she negligent in regards to her own safety? Definitely.

Answer 5

what? there's a £11,000 reward? d**n I gotta wonder how many innocent men have been put behind bars because some slapper decides that it's easier than having kids to mooch off the coffers.

NOT saying that this is true of this case.. but it does open a little can of worms.

as for the question, alcohol should be considered in some cases, ie if he ends up back at her place, where she could have done all sorts of mischievous things.. or if she went back to his.. but otherwise it shouldn't be a factor

Answer 6

No it is not.  And any "man" who claims otherwise shuld be throughly investigated by the authorities. No one is going to try to make excuses for rapsts unless they are trying to excuse their own actions. Attempting to jsutify or excuse rape is therefore probable cause to suspect a man of rape.

Answer 7

If it was, could it be argued that women would be banned from drinking alcohol completely? What sort of draconian society would we be going towards?

So, no.

Answer 8

No, being impaired in any way isn't an invitation to the invasion of her body.

I've seen rape excuse like 'she never said no' used when the victim was in a vegetative state in a hospital.

When the victim turned up pregnant, they found out about it.

Men are responsible for their actions, and when they take a woman without her consent, or while her ability to consent is not present they are guilty.

Otherwise you couldn't prosecute the scum who use date rape drugs.

Answer 9

The woman should not have put herself in a vulnerable situation; in all probability she was p****d anyway! The male is a predator so under certain circumstances will take advantage of a situation. The woman is to blame for a being where she was, in the state she was and with whom she was. Women are not normally raped in decent social surroundings!

Answer 10

Thats bullshit...

What becuase she wanted to get pissed she looses money because she was raped.

Whats the world coming too. So women are not aloud to have fun because it's going to be own fault if we get raped.

Answer 11

Rape or getting raped under the influence is not analogous with driving or falling over when under the influence of alcohol. To argue that they are the same is what we call category error in logic.

When someone is raped (man or woman), it is the person who is committing the rape that is culpable and accountable. Just because a person is lying there senseless, it does not mean you have the right to have your way with her/him. The only exception to this is the person starts to encourage you to have s*x with her when she is drunk and becomes a willing participant.  

Answer 12

NO!

This quote says it all...

"It was just so cruel and unthinking and so wrong because there is nothing you can do to prevent yourself being raped. It is not illegal to go out and have a drink , it is illegal to rape somebody," she said.

If someone beat you up after having a drink one night, where it was totally unprovoked, there would be no questions about who was in the wrong!!  

Rape is not the fault of the woman (or the man in some cases)...!  FULL STOP!!!

Answer 13

Nope she is not partly to blame at all.  

Answer 14

No woman is to blame for rape. Sadly there are evil men around. People in general though, and women in particular have to be very aware of how they behave when alcohol is a factor. A look at a typical British town on a Saturday night will show just how senseless and selfish people have become when drinking, and it's the same when the British go abroad.

Answer 15

No, ultimately it's the fault of the man, this woman was in a vulnerable state, and he took advantage of that, rape is wrong whatever the scenario.

However, the woman involved needs to asses her lifestyle, if she had not been drunk its possible she would not have placed herself in danger, we all have a responsibility to do as much as possible to protect ourselves. Please note that such a stance is NOT a justification for committing rape or any other crime, but we must use common sense as to what we do and where we go.

Answer 16

Everyone needs to take care these days because it’s a dangerous world. You could use the similar example of a small person walking around east or south London with handfuls of money showing. The black, muslim or Asian gangs would quickly rob them.

But I think she should have gotten more compensation than that. I don't know what the basis of the compensation claim would be, but I'm sure it would be higher if the judge was a woman because a woman would understand the damage that would have been done.

Answer 17

dunrobin46 is a moron, if you have a car accident or fall over while drunk, you are at fault because you know the drink hampers your coordination.  Are you saying a woman should be blamed for not being coordinated or sober enough to fight off a potential rapist?  The guy should not be trying to rape her in the first place, how is it anyone's fault other than his?  

Answer 18

For a disgusting crime such as rape there is only one person to blame. The man/woman who carried out the rape.

I don't think alcohol consumption should be taken into account but I do think that women should be very cautious when out drinking.

For me, I'd rather only have a drink or two and be in control of myself and whats happening around me than put myself at risk.

The reason a lot of rapes take place when the victim has either consumed drugs or alcohol is because they are less concious of whats happening around them and less likely to remember details the day after. The problem is people think there in control and say 'It won't happen to me' but the awful truth is it can happen to anyone.

I hope this young woman will still go on to live her life and be happy and the ****** that did it gets caught!

Answer 19

Of course she isn't at all responsible. If anything it is worse that her attacker took advantage of her when she was in a vulnerable state.

The only people who seem to think otherwise are the BNP -

A senior BNP leader with a strong chance of winning a seat in the London Assembly next month has written that rape is a "myth" and that "some women are like gongs - they need to be struck regularly."

The Standard can reveal that Nick Eriksen, the BNP's London organiser and the second-highest candidate on its list for the Assembly, is the author of "Sir John Bull," a notorious far-Right blog which has regularly advocated hatred and abuse against women. The disclosure will be a serious blow to the BNP's hopes of London electoral success.

On 24 August 2005, Mr Eriksen wrote: "I've never understood why so many men have allowed themselves to be brainwashed by the feminazi myth machine into believing that rape is such a serious crime ... Rape is simply s*x. Women enjoy s*x, so rape cannot be such a terrible physical ordeal.

Answer 20

Its a no-brainer.

Of course she is to blame as she should not have been in that intoxicated state that she was unable to comprehend the situation.

If she was so pissed that she does not know her surroundings nor what is actually happening and subsequently claims she was raped it presents a situation where the man could argue that at the time she did not say "no".

She cannot counter that by saying she could not say "no" due to her intoxicated state.

Just as people who are intoxicated are to blame if they commit criminal acts such as driving and other crimes, women who are drunk are responsible for their rape and should bear the consequence.

Women should be weary of being drunk and societies lack attitude towards binge drinkking is the real cause.

Answer 21

The article answers your question. The compensation claim was NOT cut.

Answer 22

most deffinitely not

Answer 23

Strange as it sounds, that used to be a common belief - that a woman that was raped was somehow "asking for it"

Thank God we've moved beyond such foolishness.

Answer 24

Definitely not, what has drink to do with a woman being raped. Rapists should be put down like the mad dogs that they are!

Answer 25

No.  The only person to be blamed is the rapist.  A woman has the right to walk starkers down the street and still be safe from this sort of assault.  I mean, how many builders do you see with their bum cracks sticking out.  Does that mean they are being provocative and asking for it?

Having a drink is a socially acceptable leisure activity and even if someone has a few too many, that is not an excuse for rape!

Answer 26

If I fall over and have an accident while under the influence of alcohol, is the alcohol partly to blame.

If I have a car accident while under the influence of alcohol, is the alcohol partly to blame.

There's your answer.

.

Answer 27

Most people answering this Q have missed the point.

The issue is about how much compensation she should receive - not about whether blame is attributed to the man or woman.

This case is about the award - and whether she should be treated differently to someone who hadn't consumed excess alcohol. Should there be a single fixed amount for rape victims - or should the amount be variable.

It's a big issue, because the same rationale needs to apply to all victims of crime - fixed amounts of compensation or variable amounts. I don't have an opinion, because I haven't thought it through for the wide range of situation - rape, injuries, psychological harm etc.

Answer 28

NO! That's ridiculous, no women should be blamed at all if she is raped. As far as I know, rape and consent are 2 different things, at least here in America. But hey, this is Europe we're talking about right?? The same Europe that Obama wants to model his US policies after..Hummmmm...wake up America ESPECIALLY you women out there!

Answer 29

It's the UK they will probably try and reduce it further for being in the wrong place at the wrong time:-wankers

Answer 30

She's not party to blame by drinking as it could have happened regardless.

However, by consuming a large amount of alcohol she will have definitely set herself up for the fall.

Answer 31

You fine rapist in the U K In America you get jail tim.....Ho wait a minuet that's right it would be like we call petty theft in America seeing the'' male ''is a Brit............. Sorry ladies anything we yanks can do to help?