Pentagon Allows Women to Serve Closer to Front Lines, Some Say It Will Increase Rapes

Recently, the Pentagon has announced a new decision to allow female servicemembers to serve closer to the front lines, going against a 1994 policy which previously prohibited them from having positions near combat units.  These new opportunities allow women to apply for jobs that provide more training and better pay.  It was a move in favor of gender equality that didn't take long to generate controversy.  This was a topic that had been debated frequently with servicewomen stating they are just as capable as their male counterparts to defend their county while others like Rick Santorum arguing men would feel compelled to protect the women and therefore women would be a distraction.

Enter Liz Trotta, a commentator for Fox News who has drawn criticism for statements she made in an interview.  Her argument against the Pentagon's change in policy was the government is already spending enough money because of sexual assault in the military and adding women to the front lines would increase that spending due to an increase in rapes.  Her statements boil down to claiming the blame of a sexual assault falls on the victim because it was caused by the victim being a woman.

Her comments completely ignore the fact that sexual assault is not caused by the victim.  There is nothing a victim can do, say, or imply that can cause a rape, whether they are a man or a woman.  The truth is whether or not someone is assaulted is determined by the one who commits the rape.  They are the ones who make the choice to sexually assault someone.  To think otherwise is to deny the very motivation behind rape:  power and control.  Sexual assault isn't committed because of an assailant's lust or finding a victim too irresistible.  It is committed because the rapist wants to express power or control.  They want to show they can do whatever they want to whomever they want.  Anything the victim has done has nothing to do with the attacker's intentions.

It is because of harmful, false beliefs like Trotta's that sexual assault continues to be an issue.  They place the blame not on the attacker, but on the victim.  The Sexual Assault Center of Child and Family Services works to educate people on sexual assault through our prevention activities because as Liz Trotta has shown, there are still people who need to be reached.  Prevention isn't making sure people aren't victims.  Prevention is making sure people don't become rapists.