Germaine Greer criticised for comparing trauma of rape to her fear of spiders

Germaine Greer has been criticised for comparing the trauma of rape to her fear of spiders.

The academic said that she believes that sexual assault and rape is "damaging" but that she thinks the trauma associated with the attack is "dictated by the sufferer." Speaking on Australia’s Q&A programme, Greer compared the trauma of rape to her own fear of spiders. She said:

"Trauma is something that is dictated by the sufferer. I can’t bear huntsman spiders. It’s not their fault. It’s my fault. I’ve decided to be frightened of them. “It’s interesting to me that women are encouraged all the time to be terribly, terribly frightened, and nearly always of the wrong thing.”

Greer referenced her own sexual assault at the age of 19, saying that she felt "sorrier" for the man who raped her than she did for herself. She said:

“I’m not saying that it’s not damaging. I was raped at 19. And actually because I’m an idiot I was actually sorrier for the man who raped me than I was for myself because I thought, ‘What’s happened to his sexuality? Why has he turned into this mad dog? "They’ll shoot him, they’ll kill him, they’ll wipe him out.’ I don’t know what happened to him.”

Greer's comments were criticised online by viewers who failed to follow her thought process or agree with her opinion on trauma. "Germaine Greer speaking on rape on #R4Today is succeeding in being factually wrong and gaspingly offensive in an impressive variety of ways. Quite a talent," wrote one user. "I'm completely lost by what Germaine Greer is saying about rape. I just can't follow her at all," said another.  This comes just a few months after the South African writer said that rapists should receive an 'R' tattoo rather than a prison sentence. She said that she doesn't believe rape is a "violent" crime and that in order to be believed, women should support the lowering of the penalty associated with it. Greer also argued that a man "can't kill you with his penis."