More often than not, when something bad happens to someone the tendency for many people is to blame the victim. While it may occur in a variety of situations, we often see evidence of victim blaming when it comes to sexual assault and rape cases. To illustrate how absurd it is to blame the victim, the folks at Blue Seat Studios (responsible for the brilliant Tea Consent video that went viral last year) replaces the word rape with murder in their latest animated video James Is Dead.
In the video, two characters talk about their friend James who was murdered at a party. The conversation they have is similar to what many women face when they come forward with their stories and are confronted with more questions about their behavior and character than the actual incident.
The treatment of sexual assault and rape victims is one of the many reasons that these crimes are some of the most underreported in the U. S. Showing this simple video is a great way to educate people on what victim blaming is, and work as a society towards improving the treatment of sexual assault victims.
Please pass along.