Question: are women to blame for being raped if they were wearing revealing clothing according to teaching?

[LemonAndLime]

I read this quote on a Catholic website explaining teachings of the Church -

The importance of woman’s dress cannot be overemphasized. For the last 2,000 years, the popes have repeatedly implored women to dress modestly, emphasizing that immodest dress can be a proximate occasion of sin. Dressing immodestly can allure men into committing sins of unchastity. Women have a moral obligation to avoid enticing men with immodest apparel. When a woman deliberately dresses immodestly (that is, dressing “to attract” instead of dressing “attractively”), she is committing sin and separating herself from God. The sin may be venial or mortal, depending on the degree of her immodesty, as well as other circumstances.

scripturecatholic.com/modest_dress.html

Does this imply that women are to blame if they are raped while wearing immodest dress? I may not know a lot about Catholicism but it seems to be implying so here. I don’t know which is more likely to be insulting to people - the suggestion that men are sexual creatures who can’t help themselves, or that women who wear short skirts are asking for it.

 

[pigtown]

It seems to make sense that women should dress modestly. Women should be aware that the way they dress gives a message to those who see her.

 

[fermat]

Couple of things:
No, it *never *the woman’s fault if she is raped. At the end of the day, it is a failure on the part the man for not being able to control his impulses. Women and men have an obligation to dress modestly in any case. ‘She was asking for it’ is not a valid reason to commit a crime.

Second, I see you are considering Catholicism. There are a lot of sites out there (scripturecatholic, this site) which try to promote the teaching of the Church; however, these sites are not official parts of the Church, nor should they be considered to carry the same weight as the Magisterium (the pope and bishops in union with the pope). I would book mark the bible and the Catechism of the Catholic Church and try to validate what you read. If some says, ‘The Catholic Church teaches…’, ask for which Magisterial teaching it comes from. A lot of Catholics have been led astray by following what they thought was official teaching. Always challenge.

For the most part these sites do genuinely attempt to be faithful to the Church, but there can be individual posters who don’t quite get it and need to be brought back in to line. (It’s never happened to me, of course…)

 

[puzzleannie]

I re
Does this imply that women are to blame if they are raped while wearing immodest dress? I may not know a lot about Catholicism but it seems to be implying so here. it.

your quote neither states nor implies this.

 

[Will_B]

It’s yes and no type answer…

Women attract what they advertise for… That is the way they dress… If she looks like a prostitute, men will assume that is what she wants and the weak men will go for her. The depraved man or the man with perverted morals may rape her.

On the other hand… A woman who dresses with modesty will have more respect from the majority of males… She will not attract (90% of the time) the type of man who is looking to sleep with her and leave in the morning. Most of the time she will attract a man with good morals himself… Still a depraved man or a man with perverted morals may rape her…

Dressing one way or the other will not prevent rape.

There are sick men who rape old ladies… There are sick men who rape little girls.

Rape is a crime… Few really know what goes on the mind of a rapist.

 

[Sullibe]

I read this quote on a Catholic website explaining teachings of the Church -
*
The importance of woman’s dress cannot be overemphasized. For the last 2,000 years, the popes have repeatedly implored women to dress modestly, emphasizing that immodest dress can be a proximate occasion of sin. Dressing immodestly can allure men into committing sins of unchastity. Women have a moral obligation to avoid enticing men with immodest apparel. When a woman deliberately dresses immodestly (that is, dressing “to attract” instead of dressing “attractively”), she is committing sin and separating herself from God. The sin may be venial or mortal, depending on the degree of her immodesty, as well as other circumstances. *

scripturecatholic.com/modest_dress.html

Does this imply that women are to blame if they are raped while wearing immodest dress? I may not know a lot about Catholicism but it seems to be implying so here. I don’t know which is more likely to be insulting to people - the suggestion that men are sexual creatures who can’t help themselves, or that women who wear short skirts are asking for it.

It is never a woman’s fault that she is raped. And as someone else pointed out, your quoted section does not imply this either. One of the responsibilities of people is to bring others to God, bring others to holiness and consequently not lead others to sin. When a woman is dressing immodestly or in a manner as the quote states, *“to attract” instead of dressing “attractively” *, then she herself is sinning, not because she may or may not be raped - THAT IS NEVER OKAY- but because she is causing others to sin by creating an environment of lust, an occasion of sin.

It is irresponsible and unrealistic to simply say, “I should be able to wear whatever I want and if you can’t handle it then it’s your fault.” That type of autonomy doesn’t exist in a community, and we DO live in a community. It is in everyone’s best interest consider the community around them and act, behave, and dress in a responsible manner with regards to this larger community.

There’s my two cents.

 

[St_Francis]

To tempt another to sin is a sin in itself. Women need to be careful to help men not to sin by avoiding wearing sexually provocative clothing.

However, the sin women are helping men to avoid here is the sin of lust, not the sin of rape. The sin of rape is, as another poster pointed out, directed too diffusely to be attributed to women’s wearing immodest clothing alone.

 

[lizaanne]

Hold the phone right there folks ---- rape is a crime of control and violence, not a crime of sex. It is using sex as a method for controlling the victim. If the man had no penis he would commit a crime of control and violence some other way. Many women have been raped who are not dressed provocatively.

NO woman asks to be raped. Do you think a prostitute wants to be raped because she is paid to have sex? That is the biggest piece of garbage I’ve ever heard!!! NO woman asks to be raped - PERIOD. Even a prostitute CHOOSES when she has sex.



~Liza

 

[basenji]

No woman should ever be blamed for being raped. That’s akin to asking a domestic violence what they did to make their spouse assault them, but on a far worse scale.

Modern research has found that rape is a crime stemming not from desire but of aggression instead. Even though the assault is sexual in nature, its cause is not from lust but from other defects.

Blaming the victim misplaces more than just the blame.

 

[1ke]

Does this imply that women are to blame if they are raped while wearing immodest dress?

No, it isn’t implying that at all. The phrase “sins of unchastity” isn’t a euphemism for rape. Sins of unchastity include: lust**, masterbation, fornication, pornography, and prostitution**. The quote is referring to these other sins of unchastity.

Rape has its roots in violence and various pathological conditions. It is a sin against chastity, but of a different kind than those listed above and to which this quote is referring.

I’m sure that there are situations in which a woman’s dress does entice a man to make sexual advances (i.e., I’m refering women in social situations such as dates, at clubs, bars, etc).

Women also bear the responsibility voluntarily placing themselves in dangerous situations by going to secluded places with men they don’t know, or leaving with someone from a bar/club in their car, going to their house, etc. Utlimately, if a woman says no, then a man is responsible for his actions after that point. But, yes, I think a woman does have some of the resonsibility in this situation maybe a lot of responsibility. That’s not politically correct, but it’s the truth.

Rape can happen anywhere-- and no, a woman going about normal daily business who is accosted or the victim of a break-in at her home is not responsible for the criminal and evil behavior of her assailant no matter what she is wearing.

I may not know a lot about Catholicism but it seems to be implying so here. I don’t know which is more likely to be insulting to people - the suggestion that men are sexual creatures who can’t help themselves, or that women who wear short skirts are asking for it.

Women who dress immodestly ARE asking for it. Not rape, but sexual attention.

That, in itself is a sin. Women should not cause others to stumble by the way they dress and should not reveal to others what should remain covered.

Immodest dress and behavior are sins against the ninth commandment.

 

[cjellis27]

As someone who works with and has been a victim of rape, clothing worn has nothing to do with an act that is overtly about power and aggression. A rapist wants power over his victim.

Nuns are raped. Grandmothers are raped. Virgins are raped. Small children are raped.

Are women and men capable of putting themselves in poor situations, absolutely. But rape, is not a consequence of this behavior. Mixing these topics is very difficult and results in further victimization of the rape victim.

Modesty is a wonderful thing and a great topic, BUT please, do not link modesty to the violent crime of rape.

 

[catholicgirl201]

Rape is never a womans fault. No woman ever asks to be raped. Rapists even attack people who dress modestly too so what type of clothes you wear has nothing to do with it.

 

[cthulhubryan]

A crime against another person is a crime against another person.

If a woman walks out of the shower and finds her house on fire and then runs naked from the building, does she deserve to be raped? No, of course not.

The way a woman dresses is her responsibility and she is liable for the impression she may give others and has no standing to take grievance with others low opinions of her for that dress but it is never a green light to rape.

 

[Dale_M]

However, the sin women are helping men to avoid here is the sin of lust, not the sin of rape. The sin of rape is, as another poster pointed out, directed too diffusely to be attributed to women’s wearing immodest clothing alone.

Yes. Rape is a crime of violence which uses sex as a weapon. Lust is not the cause of rape, a desire to do violence is the cause. Clothing has nothing to do with it, other than that some men feel anger towards, or even violently hate, attractive women. Often there is a desire to punish a woman, or all women.

 

[LemonAndLime]

Ah I see, thank you all for explaining it to me. I do agree with what one poster said - that linking the discussion of modesty and rape is a dangerous one because they’re not really related. I can see how a woman is asking for sexual attention by dressing provokatively, but I don’t think that’s a “green light” for rapists. How they chose their victim rarely relates to how their victim is dressed from what I know of it. The majority of rapes in the western world are committed by someone the victim knew - usually a partner or close friend/relative. That fact in itself seems to disprove the idea that how you dress can lead to rape - in some cases, perhaps - but not in most. I still don’t think the victim is ever at fault, but as someone else said - may be responsible for putting themselves in that situation with a stranger (if it is a stranger, I remember hearing somewhere that stranger-rape is less than 10% of cases (around 2% in some areas)).

 

[curlycool89]

Hold the phone right there folks ---- rape is a crime of control and violence, not a crime of sex. It is using sex as a method for controlling the victim. If the man had no penis he would commit a crime of control and violence some other way. Many women have been raped who are not dressed provocatively.

NO woman asks to be raped. Do you think a prostitute wants to be raped because she is paid to have sex? That is the biggest piece of garbage I’ve ever heard!!! NO woman asks to be raped - PERIOD. Even a prostitute CHOOSES when she has sex.



~Liza

Exactly. It’s absolutely disgusting to ever say that it was a women’s fault that she got raped. To even suggest that is just another way of letting a rapist continue to control their victim post-attack.

 

[Brendan]

It is never the woman’s fault, but that does not mean that a woman should not have taken prudent steps to prevent it.

For example. If I left a Porsche unlocked, windows down, with the keys in the ignition overnite on an inner city street, would it be my ‘fault’ if it was stolen?

No, I did not ask for the Porsche to be stolen. But that does not mean that what I did was prudent.

 

[pnewton]

I read this quote on a Catholic website explaining teachings of the Church -

scripturecatholic.com/modest_dress.html

Does this imply that women are to blame if they are raped while wearing immodest dress?

The bottom line is that you read way more into this statement than is in there. The statement doesn’t even hint at what you are saying. That said, so what? Rape is only one terrible thing in this world. Jesus also said that those that caused little one’s to stumble, it would be better for them to have a millstone around their neck and thrown into the sea, a fate as bad as rape.

 

[vera_dicere]

I took teh quote to mean that men might see a barely dressed woman and then go off to teh bathroom and commit impure acts against himself thinking of her, or might go home to his wife and think of the barely dressed woman while he’s with his wife, or go hire a prostititue because his sexual desires were hyped up.

Frankly, I think the whole “its the woman’s fault if she gets raped because she was wearing [or not wearing] certain clothing” thing speaks volumnes against men, its a male hatred isn’t it, implying men can’t control themselves, that theyr’e weak willed and can’t control their baser instincts.

And as someone said, rape isn’t about sex, its about power.

Doesn’t matter what anyone ever does or wears, it does not justify rape or lessen the seriousness of the man’s action.

Men get raped too, and chances are those that do might not have been wearing mini skirts and heels at the time.

 

[pinctor]

As the OP implies, it is not what women wear that inflames men, it’s what they don’t wear
I have a theory, developed after a careful perusal of the fashion section of the daily newspaper, that women do not wear clothes in order to attract men, but to make other women jealous of what they can afford to dress up in.