A "Short skirts risk rape" comment by Richard Graham is causing controversy on Jan. 28, 2013, even though the remark is not what it appears to be at first glance. Women's groups are outraged at the implication that women are responsible for being raped if they choose the wrong attire, reported Daily Mail, but that might not be the message that Graham intended.
Although Graham's "Short skirts risk rape" comment has aroused the ire of women's rights groups everywhere, he insists the comment isn't what it sounds like. He wasn't blaming women's sexy outfits for attracting rapists but rather opining that short skirts and high heels make it harder for a woman to fend off and escape her attacker.
Graham is Gloucester's MP; he was elected to that post in May 2010. Graham once infamously compared his city to "decadent Rome." That's not a compliment. He said:
"If you are a young woman on her own trying to walk back home through a park early in the morning in a tight, short skirt and high shoes, and there’s a predator . . . if you are blind drunk wearing those clothes how able are you to get away? . . .
It’s not about the impact of your clothes on a potential predator in my view – it’s about whether the clothes you’re wearing make it harder to get away from a predator."
Does knowing the meaning behind Graham's "Short skirts risk rape" comment make it less offensive?
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