It is astounding, in this day and age, with so much information so easily available to so many people, that one in five Canadians still believe women who are sexually assaulted "asked for it."
Nearly a fifth of Canadians, according to a survey conducted by the Canadian Women's Foundation, still believe victims of sexual assault provoke their attackers through the clothing they wear or by their behaviour in public. It appears, according to the survey's disturbing results, that many Canadians believe the clothing women wear or the alcohol they consume, are the real culprits in sexually motivated attacks - not the men who molest or rape their victims.
The Canadian Women's Foundation study revealed 19 per cent of the respondents believe women encourage sexual assault by getting drunk, 15 per cent said flirting gives men an excuse to commit sexual assault, and 17 per cent maintained that short skirts provoke sexual assaults.
It's the old "men simply can't help themselves, so women ought to know better" defence.
Perhaps most disturbing are the figures that indicate some of the most archaic and misdirected understanding of the causes of sexual assault appeared among survey respondents aged between 18 and 34 years.
In addition to the physical trauma they endure, sexual assault victims commonly have long-term and serious psychological effects that may include depression, self-blame, shame, fear and anger - all feelings that may be fueled and exacerbated by the stupid and misguided beliefs of many of their own friends and relatives.
More men need to try harder to understand their mothers and sisters and daughters and to understand themselves better. And they need to "man up" when it comes to taking greater responsibility for their own actions.
