One in three people think that if the victim disagreed with things that the murderer said, and debated with them, that they were at least partially responsible for being murdered.

In a sense, I agree. Let’s say I’m in a small village in Pakistan, and start some heated discussion about politics and religion, and I hold the view GWB is absoluteley right in everything and muslims will go to hell anyway. At the end of the debate, I eventually get killed.

Aside from ethical issues, I think I would be “at least partially responsible for the murder”. By responsibility I mean there is a probablistic causal relationship. (like “smoking is responsible for cancer”)

Or I can take

More than a quarter believe victims are responsible if they wear clothing that hints at violence, such as camouflage jackets or trousers, or jackboots.

if I go trekking to a territory of ongoing civil war, by wearing camouflage uniform I increase the probability of beeing mistaken for resistance fighter and accidentaly killed. Again, I would agree part of responsibility is on me.

Last, Urijah’s point is valid – killing is in almost all cases non-consensual and it is clear to both parties. Having sex is usually consensual. I’d guess the most common defence of rapists is “the victim actually wanted sex”. It seems probable at least part of them at least partially believs so. The obvious provocative question is, whether sexy clothing, alcohol and promiscuity contributes to the misunderstading.

…strange where one can get searching for something on interpretations of quathum mechanis.

Read your local crime stories, and you’ll find the same thing.

The public, as we know, is uneducated. Please don’t be too hard on them if they think some things are just asking for trouble.

If I remember correctly some (many. most?) rapists have themselves been abused. But, for example, you being beaten doesn’t give you the right to beat a third part at another time.

Amnesty is, as far as I know, against death penalty on first principles; a civilised society is presumed to not use it. Of course that is a value judgement, but apparently they think that some moral behaviour can be expected from a country.

For the ‘average’ public (whoever that is) there could be a difference between a physically brutal rape by a complete stranger, and that of a close friend who doesn’t take “no” seriously. We could perhaps also ask what % would respond that unwanted sex in a marriage is rape?

In many countries it was only recently (10-20 years?) that rape within marriage was considered a criminal offence!

Changing society’s view on what constitutes rape is as important as the question of responsibility.

m

I agree with you on making the distinction between the usual culprits – clothing and the woman’s sexual history – from other factors when discussing susceptibility to the crime.

As for the attitudes of presumably cosmopolitan and educated (?) people towards rape, you may be surprised. I knew a male medical student and a female statistics grad student who both believe that the woman is to blame.