Janie,

Before my discussion with Amos began, I stated that it was wrong to say that a woman may be deemed blameless yet be held responsible if she dresses or behaves a particular way.

I pointed out that this distinction is false.

Since then I have attempted to illustrate in what way it is false.

This was in response to posts which suggested that a woman who dresses or behaves in a particular way, though not to blame, has to accept some responsibility for being raped.

I have gone on to illustrate that the definition of "responsibility" which is relevant to this thread is pretty much interchangeable with the word blame, while those which are not interchangeable with the word blame are not relevant to this thread.

In the context of this thread, if we speak english, we must choose whether we think a woman is partially to blame/responsible for a rape committed against her or not.


Amos's comments do not help us get any further on this question, as they merely illustrate that according to definiton 1 on my list, all women are responsible being in a situation where they have been raped regardless of what they wear or how they behave, as they might not have been raped if they had decided not to be in that circumstance on that occasion - eg a female office worker, who is chose to be in the office at that time, a jogger in the park who wouldn't be in the park if she hadn't decided that that was where she wanted to jog, or a girlfriend discovering for the first time that she is in an abusive relationship.

I know and understand that Amos is not satying that they are at fault. I have read his posts and identified his point very cleaarly.

However, his contribution does not help us in any way to form a view on whether or not some women bring rape upon themselves.

In other words, it is not relevant to this thread.