Singer Chrissie Hynde made some controversial comments over the weekend about rape. In a new interview, the singer said that it can sometimes be a woman’s fault if she is raped.
Hynde, the lead singer for the Pretenders, told The Sunday Times that she takes “full responsibility” for being sexually assaulted when she was 21 in Ohio and a member of a motorcycle gang.
“If I’m walking around in my underwear and I’m drunk? Who else’s fault can it be?” Hynde said, reports The Guardian. She went on to say that if a woman is “very modestly dressed” and is still attacked, then it is the attacker’s fault.
“But if I’m being very lairy and putting it about and being provocative, then you are enticing someone who’s already unhinged – don’t do that. Come on! That’s just common sense. You know, if you don’t want to entice a rapist, don’t wear high heels so you can’t run from him,” Hynde continued. “If you’re wearing something that says ‘Come and f*** me,’ you’d better be good on your feet ... I don’t think I’m saying anything controversial am I?”
For many groups that represent victims of rape, Hynde definitely was saying something very controversial. Katherine Hull Fillet, the vice president of Communications for RAINN, told People Magazine that Hynde is wrong and that attackers are completely to blame for their crimes.
“It's critical for everyone to understand that regardless of the circumstances surrounding a sexual assault, a victim is never to blame,” Hull Fillet explained. “The responsibility always lies solely with the perpetrator, no matter what.”
Victim Support director Lucy Hastings also told The Guardian that, “Victims of sexual violence should never feel or be made to feel that they were responsible for the appalling crime they suffered – regardless of circumstances or factors which may have made them particularly vulnerable.”
Hynde has a new memoir, titled Reckless, coming out next week. Her reps haven’t responded to the backlash her comments have received.
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