PROVOCATION QUESTION CONDEMNED

The Age reports Baptist pastor David Hodgens' views -- almost certainly held by many committed Christians -- on provocatively dressed females:

Mr Hodgens wrote in his reflections column in last Wednesday's Warrnambool Standard that "leering at a woman in particularly tight or revealing clothing is wrong but so is dressing in a way that is known, even designed, to entice others to sexual desire".

His comments followed the controversy surrounding senior Muslim cleric Sheikh Taj al-Din al-Hilali, who suggested that provocatively dressed women were encouraging sexual assault.

"I confess to being very uncomfortable with the tone and reported content of the sheikh's comments . . . however, one of the things that seems to have been lost in the ensuing discussion is whether or not the point he seemed to be trying to make . . . ought to be examined. Is there a link between provocative dress and sexual assault?" Mr Hodgens wrote.

Lefties, always looking for something to be outraged about (especially if that "outrageous" something is attributable to ignorant Christians), are outraged:

Sue Moore, from the Violence Against Women Integrated Services Partnership, labelled Mr Hodgens' comments as ignorant.

"The central question raised by Mr Hodgens is based on . . . myths that are perpetuated and believed by people who are ignorant of the issues surrounding sexual assault," she said.

"There has been an enormous amount of research into this . . . rape is not an act of desire or the result of uncontrollable arousal. Sexual assault is a violent and insidious form of power and control."

Lefty blogger Ms Fits is outraged at the apparent lack of public outrage:

Man of the cloth makes sexually insensitive remarks about women and hardly anyone gives two-thirds of a rat's keister.

Cristy (a member of the always entertaining Larvatus Prodeo crew) sees Hodgens' views as blaming the victims:

Shockingly to those of us who were convinced that this was just a expression of Islamic misogyny,* a number of Christian commentators have jumped out of the closet to join Sheikh Hilali in his blame the victim festival of hatred.

*Please note intended sarcasm rather than attacking me for the wrong thing.

So according to lefties, in asking "Is there a link between provocative dress and sexual assault?" Hodgens reveals himself, and by extension Christians in general, to be misogynistic blamers of victims.

This is, of course, in accord with established lefty doctrine:

Newsflash. A woman is never responsible for being raped. Not one little bit. The responsibility for rape lies with the rapist. It doesn’t matter what a woman wears, what she drinks, if she flirts with a man or not: if a man forces her to have sex against her will, it’s RAPE. There are no extenuating circumstances. Consent is the only circumstance that matters.

This attitude helps explain why Thornhill and Palmer found it necessary to issue a clarification following the publication of their book, Rape: Biological Bases of Sexual Coercion:

On page 182 of our book, we characterize assertions that “a victim’s dress and behavior should affect the degree of punishment a rapist receives” as “unjustified.” We also feel that women should be free to decide to dress in whatever way they wish. All we are suggesting is that their decisions should include consideration of the possible risk associated with certain manners of dress in certain situations. Identifying risk factors and encouraging women to take these into consideration during their daily activities have been elements of sex education for some time and have not been subjected to accusations of “blaming the victim.”

It is beyond doubt that women sometimes engage in behaviour that endangers them:

Sgt Ian Clarke said girls were putting themselves in great danger by passing out in the street because of excessive alcohol consumption and hitch-hiking while drunk.

Dr Lisa Shannon, who works in the emergency department at Busselton hospital, said that on the first night of this year's celebrations she treated one alleged rape victim and another girl found unconscious with evidence of sexual activity that she could not remember.

Rape is by definition wrong. A rapist can offer no factors in mitigation. That does not mean, however, that women are absolved of responsibility for acting in their own best interest, avoiding behaviours and situations that put them at risk.

Pastor Hodgens did a public service by asking the question.