Photo Credit: Gawker
The University of Colorado Department of Public Safety had a list of 10 ‘last resort’ behaviors they recommended women turn to in order to evade an attacker during a rape.
This list, combined with statements from Colorado lawmaker Joe Salazar started a media firestorm. Salazar is in the process of trying to change gun laws in Colorado. In his controversial statements, he mentioned women turn to ‘rape whistles’ not guns in order to evade a rape incident.
College women reacted, especially since his suggestion directly impacted them. College campus throughout the United States have call boxes and rape whistles as a means of safety precautions for women.
Salazar’s comments coupled with the ‘last resort’ suggestions from the University of Colorado suggesting women urinate or say they have a disease outraged women. He stated:
“It’s why we have call boxes, it’s why we have safe zones, it’s why we have the whistles. Because you just don’t know who you’re gonna be shooting at,”
“And you don’t know if you feel like you’re going to be raped, or if you feel like someone’s been following you around or if you feel like you’re in trouble when you may actually not be, that you pop out that gun and you pop … pop a round at somebody.”
Here is the complete list of suggestions from their department of public safety document titled “What To Do If You’re Attacked”, a list meant to help women prevent sexual assault:
1. Be realistic about your ability to protect yourself.
2. Your instinct may be to scream, go ahead! It may startle your attacker and give you an opportunity to run away.
3. Kick off your shoes if you have time and can’t run in them.
4. Don’t take time to look back; just get away.
5. If your life is in danger, passive resistance may be your best defense.
6. Tell your attacker that you have a disease or are menstruating.
7. Vomiting or urinating may also convince the attacker to leave you alone.
8. Yelling, hitting or biting may give you a chance to escape, do it!
9. Understand that some actions on your part might lead to more harm.
10. Remember, every emergency situation is different. Only you can decide which action is most appropriate.
The list has since been removed by the the University of Colorado. Apologies were extended. In their statements, they mention the suggestions from the department of public safely were merely last resort and may have been misinterpreted in the social media world.
Salazar has also since gone on record, apologizing for his statements:
“The words I said near the end of a 12-hour debate are not reflective of the point I was trying to make,”
“I am a husband and father of two girls. I care deeply about their safety, and I would never question a woman’s ability to discern a threat. My larger point was about how more guns on campus don’t mean you’re more safe. I used a bad example. Again, I’m sorry.”
What are your thoughts on the list of suggestions for avoiding a sexual assault? How does Colorado lawmaker Joe Salazar’s statements suggesting women use a rape whistle instead of turning to guns make you think of how women are expected to handle themselves in a violent attack?
Sources: ABC News, The Washington Times, USSC Public Safety Department
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I actually agree with more gun control, but the whistling comment is a bit off. People carrying around more guns all the time is getting scary, and what happens if someone overreacts and shoots someone who was just walking by. Recently several people got shot at a gun safety booth, and it seems like the gun manufacturers are pushing guns as a way to make more money, and are getting more successful at this by playing on the fear of the American populace.
However, it seems all the emphasis is being put on women being attacked, and this seems to ignore that men can be sexually assaulted, too. Actually, we were told not to walk alone on our college campus at night because both men and women had been sexually assaulted.
Yes, both men and women can fall victim to sexual assault. Statistically speaking, women are more often in the role of victim in terms of a sexual assault. Sadly, more focus is placed on ‘fixing’ a victim rather than showing others what it means to treat other humans with respect.
Why didn’t I think of all of the above? Oh wait, I did. It doesn’t matter what other people say, until someone is in that type of danger (male or female) they will not know how they will react. I honestly think that people who haven’t had that type of fear pouring through their veins shouldn’t even offer an opinion.
How about we start a campaign with young men in high school and teach them to RESPECT WOMEN. Just like my Mama used to say, don’t touch things that don’t belong to you.
With 1 in 4 women experiencing a sexual assault or rape in their lifetime, this is imperative. My son is well on the way to understanding that you do not touch someone without their permission. And when a woman says “no”, she means “no”. Even if you have been intimate before, even if she is your girlfriend, even if she is your wife. No one has the right to touch anyone else’s body without their willing consent (and not pressured or threatened consent as well).
Yes! You are right Amanda. People need to be taught respect and boundaries for others. Perhaps if we start there, we are headed in the right direction!
Amanda, I agree with most of your comments. However this one I have to dis-agree with- “It doesn’t matter what other people say, until someone is in that type of danger (male or female) they will not know how they will react. ”
This is true if a person is not properly trained or prepared to deal with such violence. However, when properly trained and emotionally prepared, they will at least have a basic understanding of how they will respond and what their options are. This is the reason that so many of us offer this type of training. Even when properly trained there are no guarantees, but such training will give people a chance that they may not have had otherwise.
The problem is that so many people (male and female) choose to ignore the potential for violence and don’t take the simple steps to improve their own safety. Should they have to do this? No they shouldn’t HAVE to but unfortunately it has become a necessity like fire safety and defensive driving.
I completely agree with the comments about teaching young men to behave. Women are not some kind of cookie that they can chomp down at will.
The idea of the rape whistle misses a fundamental point. In that scenario, either the attacker has to voluntarily disengage from the attack or someone has to physically intervene on the behalf of the whistler. I assume lawmakers believe that attackers will automatically disengage when they hear a whistle, but this really belies a very fundamental misunderstanding of predatory behavior. While it may go down that way, I wouldn’t bank my life on it. If someone must physically intervene, why not start with the person being victimized? It brings immediacy to the solution. Couple that WITH the rape whistle and ther is even more value in that as a solution.