Teaching them self defense prior to getting attacked is not victim blaming.

Blaming them for not fighting off an attacker is victim blaming.

Is this a serious question? Do you not know what victim blaming is?

Nobody would say that. An idiot would.

But that should not be the first suggestion. The first suggestion should be to teach boys/men to STOP ASSAULTING WOMEN. But even so, everyone should know how to defend themselves.

You'd think so. But how often do you hear the parents of a male assaulter say "boys will be boys" or "she shouldn't have worn that" etc etc...

You may THINK it's common sense, but it's not.

There is a fine line here. Better question is do we favor freedom or justice more? Would we rather let a guilty man go unpunished or punish a possibly guilty man in the name of justice.

What is the line between teaching people to defend themselves, versus blaming them for getting attacked?

I see this all the time in discussions of sexual assault. Obviously sexual assault is totally fucking wrong. But is teaching women to defend themselves with pepper spray, etc. victim blaming or just teaching them to be smart?

I guess z is imagining a scenario in which a man says, "Hello, woman. You may be raped one day, so you need to learn martial arts." And he is wondering if this constitutes a type of advance victim blaming if she is indeed later raped and never became a kung fu master in the interim.

I guess z is imagining a scenario in which a man says, "Hello, woman. You may be raped one day, so you need to learn martial arts." And he is wondering if this constitutes a type of advance victim blaming if she is indeed later raped and never became a kung fu master in the interim.

Pretty much!

I guess z is imagining a scenario in which a man says, "Hello, woman. You may be raped one day, so you need to learn martial arts." And he is wondering if this constitutes a type of advance victim blaming if she is indeed later raped and never became a kung fu master in the interim.