Don't Blame Victims
Published in the both Daily News and Chronicle Herald, November, 1994
To the Editor:
So drunkenness is an excuse. The untold part of this story is the reported
fact that it is men who are using this excuse for their violence in a male
dominated legal system. This should come as no surprise. We live in a society
where the men who do violent acts receive few consequences and the victims,
typically women, are victimized again as they pursue their right to justice.
As reported in The Mail Star on November 3, 1994 a woman was told by
the legal system that, when she was a 14 year old girl at the Nova Scotia School
for Girls in Truro, she was "partially to blame" for her rape.
This culture of denial must end before any lasting change will take place.
Men have avoided taking responsibility for violent acts for too long. We cannot
continue to blame the victim or the bottle for men's violent behavior and still
expect real change.
As the anniversary of the Montreal Massacre approaches let us remind
ourselves that there is no excuse for violence. While not all men are violent it is
still a challenge for every man to do our part to end violence. Speak up, wear a
purple ribbon and support men to accept full responsibility and consequences for
their violent actions.
