I think people in general, from childhood, need to have it explained very clearly that a crime against another person is still a crime, even if that other person was being careless or acting in such a way as to tempt that action. This means if you invite someone into your home and show them your jewelry -- maybe even promise to give them some of it -- if they then take that jewelry without your express permission, that's theft. A crime. If someone staggers drunk out into the street and you hit them with your car when you clearly could have avoided that if you chose to, you could still be charged with either negligent homicide, manslaughter or even first-degree murder, if you either deliberately ran them down or made absolutely no effort to stop or swerve.   If someone taunts you, calls you names, insults your mother, and even yells "Hey! You want a piece of me!?" you are still guilty of battery if you throw the first punch, when you could have simply walked away.   And if I leave my brand new Mercedez (Yeah, like I really have one! lol) parked in a "bad neighborhood" with the keys in the ignition, my insurance company may refuse to pay in full when (not "if") it gets stolen, and they may even drop my coverage, but the law still says that's felony theft.

Rape is the only crime I can think of where many people seem to think the victim's carelessness, provocation, stupidity, etc. somehow totally negates the crime.   And I think that stems partly from the mistaken belief that being raped "isn't all that bad;" from the attitude that women are inherently evil temptresses who make men want to sin; from the belief that "a stiff prick has no conscience or self-control" (Try setting of the fire alarm and see how quickly a guy's physiological urges can shift gears.); or from the idea that, in a dating relationship or marriage, a woman couldn't have any good reason for changing her mind once foreplay began.   

Again, we generally don't apply 'logic' like that to other crimes against people.


Of course we need to teach women how to avoid and/or protect themselves from attacks, sexual and otherwise, and do what they can not to be victims.   Women also need to understand how difficult it is -- and should be -- to prove rape when (as is usually the case) there are no witnesses nor evidence of "consent" and "coercion" after the fact. And both girls and boys need to understand that falsely crying "rape" is itself a serious assault on another person.   But that should never, ever mean that a crime is "OK" just because it was committed against someone who was acting irresponsibly.