They especially point to the tendency to “blame provocative clothing”!

“There’s a tendency to assume the victims of sexual violence somehow brought it on themselves. In a 1996 survey of judges in India, 68 per cent of the respondents said that provocative clothing is an invitation to rape. In response to the recent gang-rape incident, a legislator in Rajasthan suggested banning skirts as a uniform for girls in private schools, citing it as the reason for increased cases of sexual harassment.”

The list of contextual issues that contribute to a “rape culture” applies to the Canadian and Toronto context: we too need to make change, especially if we consider the comments we have recently heard aired publicly, as well as the infamous Krista Ford tweet, all blaming the victim for the assault.

In 2011, I co-authored a piece with the woman known as Jane Doe on the 12 year battle to have “rape culture” in policing in Toronto altered. It was in the Toronto Star.

“Women continue to report rape to police in shockingly low numbers. The conviction rate is abysmal. Its incidence on the university campus is particularly high. The persistence in individualizing the problem shows brass unable or unwilling to eradicate a culture of rape mythology that the Doe vs. Toronto police win was meant to reverse.”

Read: Ten Reasons Why India has a Sexual Violence Problem

Read: Seeing no Evil