Brazil is known for its sexy citizens and beach bodies, so it would be fair to assume that the country, over all, would have a more progressive attitude towards nudity and revealing clothing. But a recently released study by a government-run research institute shows that majority of the people residing in the Latin American country have some narrow-minded and radical views.
The study, as reported by Brazilian newspaper Folha de S. Paulo, found that majority of Brazilians believe that a woman who wears revealing clothing or shows off her body deserves to be raped. Specifically, a whopping 65 percent of the respondents agreed that it is okay to rape women “wearing clothes showing their bodies" and 58 percent of those surveyed agree with the claim that “if women knew how to behave, there would be fewer rapes.”
Conducted by the Brazilian government's Institute of Applied Economic Research (IPEA), the study surveyed 3,810 individuals of both sexes (male and female) between May and June 2013. What's even more shocking is that majority of those surveyed were women, suggesting that this sentiment is not just one validated by men.
But before your shrug this survey off as a patriarchal society with less-than-ideal views towards women, consider this: 91 percent of the respondents agreed that “a man beating his wife has to go to jail” and 82 percent disagree that “a woman who gets beaten at home should be quiet to not harm the children.” These statistics support the notion that the sample questioned do not condone violence against women or are not blindly answering in the favor of men, but those surveyed do hold women responsible for provocative clothing.
One of the most rampant "rape myths" around the world is that women who dress or behave provocatively are "asking for it" and this attitude is not only wrong, but creates an accepting rape culture. Juliana Breines writes about the impact of rape myths in Psychology Today and how it enables rape.
"For example, rape victims may be seen as having "asked for it" through provocative clothing or behavior, or having "wanted it" despite saying no," writes Breines. "Research suggests that there is a link between acceptance of these better-known myths (i.e., not the pregnancy myth per se) and proclivity toward actual rape. For example, convicted and self-confessed rapists have in some studies reported higher rape myth acceptance, and studies of non-convicted men have consistently found a significant positive correlation between rape myth acceptance and rape proclivity. Due to ethical constraints on examining actual behavior, rape proclivity is often assessed indirectly, such as by asking participants to report the likelihood that they would engage in rape if they could be assured that they would not be caught or punished."
It should be noted that the study has an exceptionally small sample size; surveying nearly 4,000 individuals to reflect the views of a country with 198.7 million may not be the most accurate or telling study. Small sample size or not, the findings of this study are troubling nonetheless considering that the IPEA estimates that 0.26 percent of the Brazilian population has been the victim of sexual abuse, 10 percent of rape cases are reported, and as of 2011, 89 percent of victims are women.
Women in Brazil have taken to social media and blogs to stand up against the victim-shaming attitudes of the Brazilian society. Journalist Nana Queiroz launched an online protest event on Facebook, using the hashtag #NãoMereçoSerEstuprada, which translates to '#IDon'tDeserveToBeRaped.' The event encourages women to post topless photos with the hashtag to stand up against the conclusions of the study.
Even Brazil’s President, Dilma Rouseff, has taken to Twitter to voice her disappointment with the results of the poll and points out that the Latin American country's “society still has a long way to go in combating violence against women.”
“It also shows that the government and society must work together to tackle violence against women inside and outside the home,” she said in a Tweet. “Zero tolerance for violence against women.”
See the photographs (NSFW) shared on social media below:
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