Asking for It: The Alarming Rise of Rape Culture--and What We Can Do about It

by Kate Harding

prosecutors won’t say it’s too risky to charge a mugger because the jury will hear that the victim carried her purse in plain sight, and thus vote for acquittal. People who stand around watching and filming a barroom brawl will not later say on the stand that they thought it was okay because only punches to the face count as “assault,” not elbows to the kidneys or kicks to the shins. Jurors will not tell reporters, “Based on the evidence presented, we believe she killed him, but she says she didn’t, so we’re at an impasse.” Who

Myth: She asked for it. Fact: It is literally impossible to ask for rape. Rape, by definition, is sex you did not ask for.