As of late my attention has been drawn to a new, and disgusting, trend formulating in today’s virtual and realistic society. This tendency among young adults, especially at BYU, is a phenomenon occurring when a sexual assault is analyzed by the culprit and its onlookers, concluding that the offense was due to the victim’s body language, speech, or clothing.
Some instances involve boys ogling inappropriately at girls, and some have more serious results as in the actual sexual offense of rape, all instances being wrongfully justified. And yes, these occurrences do happen at our safe haven of BYU, and, brace yourselves, I have an inkling that the justification comes through skewing LDS standards. LDS youth, especially young women, are taught to dress modestly, in a way that will not encourage the inappropriate thoughts of a young man. And all young people are encouraged to use body and verbal language that will not inappropriately entice another.
I agree that this counsel leads to virtuous circumstances for the individual who practices them. However, sexual assaulters take the implications of these principles too far. They rationalize that because their victim was alluring them with their clothing or body language, events thereafter are a direct result of their victim’s “overpowering” enticement. Assaulters should act and be treated as if offenses are 100 percent their fault, victims loved and helped to feel pure innocence, and young people taught that wearing “immodest” clothing doesn’t give anyone the right to inappropriately view or touch them.
Whitney Lee
Burlington, Kentucky
