Today in Rape Culture

[Trigger warning for rape culture; victim-blaming.]

10 Tips Every Woman Must Know to Protect Herself From Rape. Content provided by Cosmo, who is a repeat offender in the Tasking Women with Rape Prevention by Offering Helpful Tips category.

Many of the "tips" offered in their latest list are decent general safety tips for human people, e.g. keeping a charged mobile phone with you when you're out and about is a good idea in case you twist your ankle and need to ring for help. But that does not make them "rape prevention tips."

To identify them as rape prevention tips is to imply that there are certain rules women must (and can) follow in order to avoid being raped, and, if they fail to do so, then they share some of the blame for their own victimization. It's preemptive victim-blaming.

The only people at whom rape prevention tips need to be directed are rapists.

image of a page labeled Melissa's Handy Guide to Rape Prevention with 10 numbered tips, 1-10 of which are 'Don't Rape Anyone.'

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