Toronto cop reportedly tells students to avoid sexual assault by not dressing “like a slut”
A word of advice to women from a Toronto police officer: to avoid sexual assault, don’t dress “like a slut.” This according to York University’s community newspaper, Excalibur, which is reporting that the cop made his comment during a January 24 campus safety information session at, of all places, Osgoode Hall. The assistant dean of the Juris Doctor Program Ronda Bessner remembers being surprised by the officer’s comments. “One of the safety tips was for women not to dress like ‘sluts.’ He said something like, ‘I’ve been told I shouldn’t say this,’ and then uttered the words,” she told Excalibur.
Bessner contacted 31 Division to demand an explanation and apology, but was met with little response. Toronto police spokesperson Constable Wendy Drummond confirmed to Excalibur that the incident had been brought to the attention of senior officials and that it is a matter the police are taking very seriously. Drummond, however, could not confirm if the police intended to issue an official apology.
Bessner says that the officer’s comment points to a wider issue of blaming victims in sexual assault cases. “I think the problem with the constable’s conduct was that he was blaming the victim… He’s also not making victims feel safe to go to the police,” she says. Considering the serious issue of sexual assault on Toronto’s campuses, perhaps the officer in question should have kept his mouth shut on this one.
• Don’t dress like a slut: Toronto cop [Excalibur]
UPDATE: According to the CBC, the officer mentioned in this post will issue an apology for his comments and has been disciplined by the Toronto Police. (February 17 at 2:37 p.m.)
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A word of advice to women from a Toronto police officer: to avoid sexual assault, don’t dress “like a slut.” This according to York University’s community newspaper, Excalibur, which is reporting that the cop made his comment during a January 24 campus safety information session at, of all places, Osgoode Hall. The assistant dean of the Juris Doctor Program Ronda Bessner remembers being surprised by the officer’s comments. “One of the safety tips was for women not to dress like ‘sluts.’ He said something like, ‘I’ve been told I shouldn’t say this,’ and then uttered the words,” she told Excalibur.
Bessner contacted 31 Division to demand an explanation and apology, but was met with little response. Toronto police spokesperson Constable Wendy Drummond confirmed to Excalibur that the incident had been brought to the attention of senior officials and that it is a matter the police are taking very seriously. Drummond, however, could not confirm if the police intended to issue an official apology.
Bessner says that the officer’s comment points to a wider issue of blaming victims in sexual assault cases. “I think the problem with the constable’s conduct was that he was blaming the victim… He’s also not making victims feel safe to go to the police,” she says. Considering the serious issue of sexual assault on Toronto’s campuses, perhaps the officer in question should have kept his mouth shut on this one.
• Don’t dress like a slut: Toronto cop [Excalibur]
UPDATE: According to the CBC, the officer mentioned in this post will issue an apology for his comments and has been disciplined by the Toronto Police. (February 17 at 2:37 p.m.)){kind=link}
What a disgrace to our police department.
I think this is blown out of proportion and people are way too sensitive these days. The fact is that drunk, horny early 20s boys are going to go for the girl showing skin that gets them all riled up. It’s not such a surprise, is it?
As a woman that does get a lot of attention from men, I can safely say that sometimes I dress to get looked at and sometimes I don’t.
@twoclixx – “As a woman that does get a lot of attention from men, I can safely say that sometimes I dress to get looked at and sometimes I don’t.”
Perhaps. But do you ever dress to get raped? According to that cop you do.
Obviously this has been taken out of context…speaking to college students, the officer spoke their language…we all know that we aren’t supposed to think that dressing provocatively should matter to the outcome of our night..but realistically we all know it does…women are playing the game and men know it…i don’t believe an apology is required…
Twoclixx: So if god forbid something terrible happened to you on a night when you decided to dress ‘like a slut’, would you even bother going to the police? Because clearly it would be your own fault, right?
Having been close to several sexual assault cases I can solidly say that how you dress is not a factor to a sexual predator. This officer should publicly apologize not only to York but to all women. I am also a woman that tends to get attention and I don’t dress ‘like a slut’ but even if I did, at the end of the day no means no and anyone that feels differently about that has a problem. If this officer had a daughter that ‘dressed like a slut’ and she was sexually assaulted I bet his advice would have been different.
Roseanne Keen: How do you know his comment was taken out of context? Were you there? I was. His comment has not been taken out of context. He was not speaking to just a group of college students and using their language (whatever that is supposed to mean). He was speaking to a room that consisted of the Assistant Dean of the law school, Osgoode Hall staff, 2 York university security personnel and law students. Frankly, I’m sorry for you if you don’t understand what is wrong with what he said. As for the apology, well, I would rather he become educated than just apologise as a PR move.
I can’t believe how ignorant so many of the commenters are.
Homely girls and sexed-up girls get raped alike.
The problem with the police officer’s comment relates to the fact that so many sexual assault cases go unreported. Victim blaming only hurts that situation more. A woman shouldn’t be asking herself “was I raped because I chose to wear 3-inch heels today? or maybe were my jeans a little too tight?”
NO ONE has the right to touch you unwanted – regardless of what you happen to be wearing on a given day.
Not surprising. In Toronto, I had to call 911 b/c this guy wouldn’t let me leave his place. (I called from the washroom) When the female, Toronto officer arrived, she proceeded to yell out my name and address on the street. That is not an exaggeration. I could not believe it. Like this officer, she probably thought I had it coming, since I had drank in excess. Incidentally, I have been drinking since I was 14, and I would never do what she had done. I feared for my safety, and she told him where I lived. I’ve since moved to a community that prides itself in its 24 EMS services.
Correction: 24hour EMS services.
The sluttiest outfit imaginable will still NEVER turn a decent man into a rapist. It MAY be viewed opportunistically by rapists.
These are two separate truths which together do not even remotely support a “don’t dress slutty” message.
Whatever “dressing slutty” means.
Victim-blamers need to use the incredible magic of logic.
advice for cops:
To encourage respect for “toronto’s finest”, don’t give your personal uninformed opinion
Let’s put some context on this. The officer didn’t say that dressing like a slut made a woman guilty of enticing sexual assault. He cautioned against dressing that way. And while it is true that most men they won’t cross the line because a woman is dressed a certain way, some men will be so inclined. So for one’s own protection, dressing more conservatively is safer. It shouldn’t be that way, but at times it is. So the advice was “play safe”. Nothing wrong with that.
In this certain context, I believe the police officer shouldn’t of made an apology. Certain individuals may not agree with my opinion, but I am a University student, and do see plenty of girls wearing inappropriate clothing, i do not say the cause of sexual assault is solely based on clothing..But it should be taken into consideration.
Someone here does not understand the difference between rape and sexual attraction.
As the warmer weather, along with the “rites of Spring”
arrive in the nightclub district, yes, ladies,
the nearly-naked approach to couture is possibly a red
flag to “strong-like-bull, smart-like-streetcar” frat
boys fueled by raging hormones and excessive intake of
alcoholic libations. I’m certain the officer’s offending
words of advice were uttered with the best intentions; this is a guy who works the vomit-paved club corridor, breaking up stupid “Fuck you! Blow Me!” situations and rescuing damsels in distress, who have fallen off their Manolos and out of their strapless band-aid sized frocks. It happens.
Anyhow, gals, nobody is suggesting you don Mother Theresa
garb, just try wearing a skirt that covers your thong and maybe experiment with the concept of underwear as, like,
UNDER wear.
Also, don’t try drinking the Sex and the City gals under the table. It’s a TV show, they are actresses, that is Kool Aid, unlike the six Cosmos you just inhaled, which contain
alcohol.
In other words, showing the common sense that God gave furniture would be a solid start towards personal safety…
Whether you are dressed enticingly or not – does not matter. When a person gets it into their head to put their unwanted body parts on another person for sexual gratification, IS the problem. People should be able to dress in a sexy fashion without some deviant thinking it is OK to touch. If someone dresses in a sexy fashion you do want your appearance to be appreciated. It still does not mean that you want to be touched. Nor should you be. Unfortunately too many people are thinking with their hands and not with their brains. We need to get back to basics to further our knowledge of RESPECT.
If the cop had said “don’t walk around looking like you are careless with money if you don’t want to get mugged” (e.g. have cash hanging out of your pockets) no one would have thought he was condoning robbery. Rape and robbery are both crimes. Taking reasonable steps not to attract attention from criminals is prudent for anyone. The “slut” moniker might be a bad choice of words but what word would you use to refer to “careless with sexuality”.
Wow, way to perpetuate a rape myth, twoclixx, rosanne keen, A Different Mike, and SS.
I should add notmainstream to that list.
This officer should have to resign. I’m shocked at how easy going these comments are.
If the cop had said: the way to prevent gay bashing is to ‘act less effeminate’ or a room full of black students the way to prevent racism was to try not to play up your ‘hip hop side’….he would be asked to resign.
The term ‘slut’ is a contentious term in and of itself. By an officer of the law using it he gives permission to young men to use it. That he used it in a speech about preventing sexual assault is criminal to me – it is hateful.
I think the officer’s boss should also apologize for sending their most ignorant officer to speak about something so serious.
It makes me deeply sad that our society still blames women for sexual assault. A few years back when one of the most noted York University rape cases came to light – when two male friends broke into dorm cells and gang raped several female students – would you blame them for wearing pajamas?
Rape is crime of hate not sex.
Dress like a slut and get treated like one.
I’m curious to know the nature of this officer’s experience with rape victims.
Is it the victims of date rape, perpetrated by men who know their victims’ personalities, regardless of what they picked out of the closet that morning?
Is it the prey of the serial rapist, who has a “type” that has little to do with what the victims wear from day-to-day, and more about being in the wrong place at the wrong time?
Is it the wives and girlfriends of abusive men who don’t even see the woman as anything more than property?
In which of these scenarios would clothing matter? Women are raped all over the world, wearing anything from a birthday suit to a hijab.
It’s true that a woman may elicit unwelcome comments, advances and more, by dressing in a provocative manner; but it is not a cause of rape. As NCL said, Rape is a crime of hate, not sex.
Despite what many cultures and apparently policemen would have us believe, rape is NOT about sex, at least not in the same way as with the average guy in the bar wanting to get with the girl dressing provocatively. Rapists are about power. They don’t love women or their bodies, they hate them. Having brown hair or wearing a blue turtleneck sweater could be just as much of a turn on to a rapist as dressing in heels and a short skirt.
To avoid being raped, stay with people when walking home in the dark, lock your doors, be safe like that. You can’t predict how someone will react to how you dress.
And really, if we’re talking about how you dress affecting men, shouldn’t we be concerned with men coming here from other cultures where women wear burqas or other concealing clothing? Comparatively, we’re ALL dressed like sluts. I’m not concerned if I see a guy wearing a turban, but using this cop’s logic maybe I should be. Also, are those cultures rape free? No. If we all started wearing mom jeans and turtlenecks, would rape stop? No, I don’t believe it would. General promiscuity might suffer (at least temporarily), but rapes would still happen.
What a load of victimizing bull. No wonder rapes go unreported and victims blame themselves. Very constructive.
My suggestion for this officer? Don’t dress like an idiot and then maybe, just maybe you won’t act like one. Oh wait? How you dress has nothing to do with being an idiot? My bad.
Feeling sexy and wanting to have sex with a stranger are not the same thing. Many women like the attention they get from a man because of their looks. Many also don’t. Most of the time, looking sexy is something women are doing for a particular group of people – not for anyone wandering by who happens to get the urge. I think the point we are getting at here is unless you have the conversation about whether you want to have sex with that particular man or not, you can’t possibly know how the other person feels. Men, all men, and boys, do know this – they teach it in school – so let’s not confuse the issue by advertising that it doesn’t matter if the girl “looks” like she “might” want to have sex. If you don’t ask, it’s rape. If she says no, it’s rape. Simple.
This was said at Osgoode. Word of advice, keep a comment such as this to yourself at a place like Osgoode. Feminist is an understatement.
What not everyone is aware of is the hypocrisy from Osgoode. The female law staff at that school are very sexist. The stereotype of manhating female intellectuals populating education institutions is not so far fetched, believe me. All you need to do is scratch the surface at Osgoode and reveal its true face. Things are never what they seem and this is no more true than at that law school.
If you want your personal life private, don’t flaunt same in public distasteful and rude
The cop was being honest. If you want to be less of a target by some pervert than don’t walk around looking like you’re begging for it. Common sense. Why do woman dress like sluts anyway? Put some clothes on.
Why is the focus on the victim that got raped rather than the man that raped her….. NO item of clothing = consent