Hungary Police Blames Victims Of Rape

Rape

Law enforcers of Hungary drew the ire of various women's rights groups and civil organization after releasing a rape awareness video that blames the victim, BBC reported.

The video, which was titled "Selfie Klip" and posted on YouTube, shows three women drinking alcohol and dancing seductively with two men they met at a club. The short film ends with an image of another woman who had just been sexually assaulted by a stranger lurking outside the club.

The last scene of the video features a caption in Hungarian which means, "You are responsible, you can do something about."

Local authorities said through a press release that copies of the video have been sent to schools to increase awareness regarding the prevention sexual assault.

After the video was released, women's rights groups condemned the Hungarian police department for implying that sexual assaults occur because of the victims.

The film also suggested that in order to avoid sexual harassment, women should change how they behave and dress in public, according to the Huffington Post.

One of the video's critics, Eva Cserhati of Hungary's Women United Against Violence, told the Guardian that the video depicts an exaggerated version of female sexuality.

She also noted that the film is spreading the wrong idea that women who dance and drink in clubs are considered sexually provocative by men.

"[The video] intentionally spreads some of the worst ideas of an extremely socially conservative and patriarchal society," Cserhati said to the Guardian.

Cserhati then pointed out that the film features outdated references and emphasizes that public institutions should not be blamed regarding the prevalence sexual assault cases.

"A stranger attacking a woman on a dark street is very rare," she said referring to the attacker depicted in the video. "Most sexual assaults are committed by somebody known to the victim, often from their inner circle of friends and family.

"This understanding of rape as a social phenomenon comes from the Socialist era, when the victim, or in some cases even the basic citizen, was habitually blames, and contrasted with the blamelessness of public institutions such as the police," Cserhati added.