You know what?  I haven't been really, truly good and angry in a while.  So imagine my relief when I read this:

Blame the victim: Religious leaflet claims 'ungodly' dressed women provoke rape

I just... no.  You know what?  Let's try a few thought experiments here.

Experiment 1

There is a dark alley.  A woman wearing a dress that covers her entire body is walking along the alley and is attacked and raped.  Whose fault is it?  Is it the woman's fault for having the audacity to walk somewhere without a male escort, or is it the rapist's fault for raping her?

Now just keep that in mind, while we move to...

Experiment 2

There is a dark alley.  A woman wearing a Jackie O Chanel suit is walking along the alley and is attacked and raped.  Whose fault is it?  Is it the woman's fault for wearing a miniskirt that exposes her sexy, sexy calves, or is it the rapist's fault for RAPING HER?

The difference between experiments 1 and 2 is the way the woman is dressed.  And I think we can say that any man who can't keep control of himself at the sight of sexy legs is mentally ill and a threat to society.

Experiment 3

There is a dark alley.  A woman wearing a halter top with a bare midriff, short shorts, and go-go boots is walking along the alley and is attacked and raped.  Whose fault is it?  Is it the woman's fault for wearing such a revealing outfit, or is it the rapist's fault for, oh let's see, RAPING!  HER!

The only practical difference between experiments 2 and 3 is the level of exposure.  Yes, she is revealing more, but to say that any part of what happened to her is her fault is basically saying that a man capable of rape can be excused for raping because he was tempted too much.

The thing is, when a serial killer with a preference for blondes murders a blonde woman out for a jog, do we blame the woman for being blonde?  No.  We blame the killer because he is mentally disturbed.  Likewise, if a rapist with a preference for ladies in Jackie O suits rapes a lady in a Jackie O suit, we do not blame the victim.  We blame the rapist, because he raped.

This quote from the pamphlet in the article is a perfect example of blaming the victim:

...some rape victims would not have been raped if they had dressed properly...

So I suppose that had this elderly woman not worn her sexy, sexy nightgown while asleep in her own bed, she wouldn't have been raped?  There seems to be an assumption on the parts of those who blame the victim that rape only happens to young, pretty girls who have somehow gone astray.  They never seem to consider that rape happens to elderly women and even tiny children as well.

Rape is a terrible crime committed by disturbed individuals.  Claiming that a woman brings it on herself completely ignores that and excuses the rapist by saying that he just couldn't help himself.