The other day, I was on Reddit (I tend to go a few days in between after I read something that makes me sad). I can't remember what I was looking at, but it was something someone said in the comments that really got to me, and I've been pondering it ever since.
Some guy said that "people who are drunk or high are responsible for any crimes they commit, so shouldn't people who are drunk or high not be able to use being drunk or high as the reason they were raped?"
This really, really bothered me. Look: if you've ever drank, and I assume if you've ever gotten high, you know being high and drunk impairs your judgement. That is exactly why anyone with an ounce of responsibility accounts for their lesser judgemental abilities by having a designated driver, or taking a cab or a bus home. I know I've always relied on a buddy system when out with friends, where we rescue each other from decisions we might not make sober.
This means if you hurt someone else while drunk, you are responsible. If you drove drunk and you kill someone, you knew you were going to be drinking, you knew you were going to be driving, you are very definitely responsible for anything you do while drunk. You know your ability to recognise what other people think is funny or appropriate is impaired (seriously, we've all been the sober person at a drunk party. There's no way anyone with an ounce of sense could think they're an exception), so you are very responsible if your excuse is "I thought his/her no meant yes" or "they didn't hit me, so I thought it was okay."
However, if someone hurts you when you're drunk, you are not responsible. You cannot reasonably predict that there might be a dangerous driver as you walk home. You cannot reasonably predict that there might be a person who won't take no for an answer and will take advantage of your impaired judgement and impaired reflexes.
It isn't a double standard, it's a reasonable application of sense and sobriety. If anything, I think drunk drivers especially should be prosecuted more harshly than sober drivers, because they deliberately got into the driver's seat knowing they are impaired. That is pre-meditation, in my opinion, and I am fully in support of BC's harshest drinking driving laws in Canada. Fuck anyone who plays Russian Roulette with other peoples' lives.
I'm sure if I had posted this on Reddit, someone would have said "but what if the person who accused the other person of rape never said no?" You know, considering that false rape accusations only account for 2-4% of reports, I really highly doubt it happens very often. Even though Reddit fucking LOVES to cry "false accusations" whenever the issue of rape comes up. No, you stupid MRAs, false accusations don't happen often enough for you to need to be up in arms about them. Yes, they suck, and anyone who makes them is a shitty person, and it can ruin the accused's life, but you can do the whole "innocent until proven guilty" thing without eviscerating the accuser. Try it, and maybe people will actually listen to anything you say.
In Sweden there's currently a proposition in the government to change our laws regarding rape. Currently it states that rape can be taking advantage of someone in a "helpless condition". But the "helpless condition" is something that needs fixing, since it's a bit dubious about what it means exactly.
ReplyDeleteAt the moment it's basically... you're asleep. Or incapacitated. Or passed out.
It doesn't allow for you to be so struck with fear that you couldn't manage the word "no". Which is what they want to change. I think this is a decent change, even if I admittedly would prefer the even harsher law of "if they didn't explicitly say 'yes', assume it's 'no'".
The change is also supposed to incorporate if you're very drunk and get taken advantage of.
Whoever wrote in that Reddit thread really wasn't saying anything logic. Drunk driving or drunk-other-bad-things-done is something *you* do. Being raped is something being done *to* you.
It all comes back to the rape culture of trying to blame the victim. What were you wearing? Were you drunk? How many people had you had sex with before?
By that person's logic.. no woman should ever drink, because she'd basically invite people to rape her.
By that person's logic.. if a man walks down the street and someone beats him up. It's his fault because.. hey, he was walking down that street!