Media Release for immediate release

2 October 2013

Wellington Rape Crisis calls on the NZ Herald to apologise for publishing articles that contribute to rape culture.

The agency Wellington Rape Crisis is calling on the NZ Herald to cease the publication of articles that contribute to rape culture and to apologise for the damage done to survivors of rape and sexual assault.

“The recent article by Bob Jones is an affront to all survivors of rape and also the people who work in this sector” says Karin Brown, Governance Chair of Wellington Rape Crisis. “People who describe rape as a normal and inevitable part of life contribute to an overall culture that places blame on the survivors rather than on the perpetrators of rape and sexual assault”.

A recent study published in The Lancet confirms that men who admit to acts which meet the legal definition of rape clearly identify a sense of sexual entitlement as the most common explanation for their actions. *

“Research shows that rapists rape because they feel entitled to do so, not because of anything their victims are doing or not doing. ”

“The comments made by Bob Jones show a stunning lack of insight into the fact that rape is a social epidemic and reinforce the incorrect notion that rape can be prevented if the survivor had only taken the right precautions. Rape occurs in a range of situations, contexts and relationship and is never the fault of the survivor.”

“Our work at Wellington Rape Crisis confirms that not only are articles like this factually incorrect, they reinforce damaging messages to survivors. We maintain that the rape is only ever the fault of the rapist and call on the New Zealand Herald and other media outlets to take their responsibility as cultural norm setters more seriously.”

Wellington Rape Crisis is a Support Centre for survivors of rape and sexual abuse, their families, friends and whanau.

*http://tinyurl.com/p8onseu

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