It's like Snopes was never invented - debunked rape myths still being spread around the web

Hands up if you've ever been forwarded one of those emails that warns you about a spate of rapes in your local area? How about a forward that tells you how to minimise your chances of being raped (stay with me - it gets less grisly, honest). Well, chances are, it's nothing better than a glorified chain letter, with content that's designed to make you want to send it on for fear of letting down the sisterhood.

The ladies over on Hoyden About Town have been providing a very useful public service, pulling apart one of the most notorious "rape advice" forwards and pointing out where all the nonsense lives

For the record, you're not in more danger just because you choose to go through life with a pony tail, using car parks and public toilets is not going to make a light appear above your head that says "rape me" and there's a strong chance that the chap pinning you down *is* carrying a weapon (30% chance - not 2% as this article blithely asserts.)

God knows where these email forwards begin their lives, but the very idea that women out there are sending each other articles that say that "if you put up any kind of a fight at all, [the rapist] will get discouraged... [and] realize that going after you... will be time-consuming" and (my personal favourite) "they will look for women whose clothing is easy to remove quickly. Many of them carry scissors to cut clothing" is too crazy to contemplate.

Victim of a crime? That's your own silly fault

What this is saying is that if you don't put up a fight, it's your fault for not scaring him off, and before you go out for the day you should think to yourself "hmm, which of my clothes are most resistant to scissors, and how long did it take me to put everything on?"

If you get sent an email like this, the very first thing you should do is go to Snopes where the fantastic Barbara Mikkelson has collected and fact checked pretty much every single email forward and urban legend you can think of (and if she hasn't done it yet, you can be sure it will be up on the site before the week is out).

Simply looking at the "Crime Warnings" section will show you that the vast majority of these emails are based on precisely no kinds of facts whatsoever. It's not just that these emails perpetuate fear and are little more than petty scaremongering, they are potentially hugely damaging to anyone who finds herself in a position of danger thinking that she is armed with the "facts" that will help her to get out safely.

Read the full article on Hoyden About Town

Give the offending rape piece a "Thumbs Down" on Stumble Upon.

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