Don’tblame victims

THE EDITOR: I’m sorry but in a nation where women fear for their lives as the sun sets, victim blaming shouldn’t exist. And even when it does rear its ugly head, it should be exposed and shamed, not celebrated.

One of the many consequences of victim shaming, especially by a person of authority or influence, is the justification of the perpetrator’s actions. It lessens and sometimes nullifies the malicious act, thus causing the victim to suffer again.

How can an act as heinous as this be sidelined to make the victims the instigators? How can the utter disrespect for and disregard of teachers and their positions be pushed to the side? What sort of association would dare lend credit to this line of thinking?

No one outraged by victim blaming is against having proper work attire rules enforced. Our fight is not against the enforcing of necessary rules that have been neglected by various schools.

Our fight is with those who have overlooked the hurt, pain, shame, and fear experienced by those who have been assaulted on school compounds. Strong words, but let’s call non-consensual sexual physical contact what it truly is – assault.

Once again we’ve left those a generation below us bewildered. We’ve erased another notch from their moral compass. Because the ones being chastised for the demonstrably wrong egregious conduct of male students are their victims – the female teachers.

JON HUBERT BRISTOL

via e-mail