Hilary Bowman-Smart decided to respond to these assholes by tweeting her own "risk management" tips and hash tagging them "safety tips for ladies." The Internet caught on. It was awesome.
Now, there are a few people who are really confused as to why women would resent all of the "tips" they are constantly getting for safety. What's wrong with being aware? If you don't want to get robbed - don't leave your windows open. Well, if you happen to be one of these people, let me explain it in the simplest way, possible.
If you get robbed, no one makes you take the stand to explain why, in fact, your windows were open. They assume guilt on the part of the person who actually entered your house. Funny how that works. Not for rape though! If you are raped - you are forced to explain why you were wearing that skirt, what you had to drink, how many times you've had sex before. Can you imagine the victim of a robbery being skewered on the stand - but, you give to charity - so obviously you like giving money away! And you've been robbed before! Clearly you have a problem holding onto your money, don't you? Don't you?
Maybe we wouldn't resent them so bad if it didn't feel like people were trying to give us an alibi. Because, if we get raped - it's obviously our fault. So we better be able to cover our tracks and prove our innocence. I followed all the tips! I didn't get drunk around strangers! I didn't show any of my bare skin! I didn't make eye contact! I'm innocent! I mean, wait? What did I do?
So here are a few of my favorite #safetytipsforladies:
