What Would Happen If Reporting A Robbery Was Like Reporting A Rape (Video)

Rape is, arguably, one of the worst crimes.

Yet somehow, the ways in which we discuss and handle rape as a society are fundamentally flawed; victim-blaming abounds, as does the tendency to blame assault on drunkenness or misunderstandings.

To prove just how ridiculous these common responses to assault allegations are, Cynthia Kao created a short in which police officers respond to a robbery in the same way they might a rape.

In the video, a man's computer is stolen. During police questioning, the officers suggest the victim was “asking for it” because he was “flashing [his] goods for all the world to see.”

They also ask the victim if he's been drinking and attempt to convince him that filing a report is unnecessary.

By replacing rape with theft, the absurdity of the officers' reactions becomes glaringly obvious; it perfectly demonstrates the need for dramatic reform when it comes to our cultural response to rape.

Watch it above.

Citations: If Reporting A Robbery Was Like Reporting A Rape (Huffington Post)