Woman’s response when man says her outfit is why ‘joggers get raped’

Laurah Lukin is a professor, blogger, and mum.

She is also a jogger who recently took part in a half marathon in Ohio. Upon finishing her race, Laurah wrote that she had a "great day." "I raced with my friends. We all ran well.  I set a goal for myself and exceeded it. My husband and daughter cheered for me at the finish line," she said on her website, Lao Tong. However, the following day Laurah awoke to find that she had been tagged in a photo from the marathon on Facebook. One user had written: "Look at them muscles in those legs!" and another had replied: "That's because she doesn't have any damn clothes on and she's running for her life." The second user then posted another comment saying: "No wonder joggers get raped." First, Laurah said she was speechless. She then began rationalising the reasons behind her outfit choice of a vest-top, shorts, and runners... until she realised that she didn't have to rationalise her decision to anyone.

"I was immediately disappointed that my gut reaction to this man’s horrific comments was to defend my wardrobe choice. After all, there were photos from the race of shirtless men, men in short shorts, men in tight shorts; yet he did not feel motivated to comment on their potential for inviting sexual assault."

On her website, the mum wrote that she could not let such behaviour go "unaddressed." The suggestion that a woman is inviting rape because of the clothes she is wearing is not one that is tolerated by Laurah - nor is it one that should be tolerated by anyone. "It is not my responsibility to choose a race outfit or workout apparel to deter the temptation of men," she wrote.

"The length of my shorts is not an indication of interest, invitation or consent. Rape and sexual assault are crimes of violence and control that stem from a person’s determination to exercise power over another. It is an appalling crime with devastating effect on victims, and those close to them. NOBODY asks to be raped."

Laurah concluded her impassioned post by stating that this man believes joggers are asking to be raped because he cannot confront "the societal problem of rape" himself.

"For him, comments such as, 'That’s because she doesn’t have any damn clothes on and she’s running for her life…No wonder joggers get raped', makes avoidance of rape the responsibility of women, and not his own. But the truth is, such statements do not decrease the incidence of rape or make women more 'safe'. These statements only provide rapists what they’re looking for: an excuse for violence."

Although there are no firm statistics for the number of women who are attacked while jogging in the US, runner-safety is often encouraged. However, this is not introduced to blame the jogger, but to increase awareness for these attacks. As Laurah said in her post, judging women's clothing does not keep people safe, but "propagates an ignorant, dangerous agenda and further justifies this hateful and disturbing behaviour." In-text image via Laurah Lukin.