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lisa_butler79's review
informative
slow-paced
2.0
I finished this book because I felt I needed too, however what I didn't realise was this was a very academic book based on her research. At times it felt like a good narrative but then it seemed to switch to a lot of research which made it confusing to follow at times. Also I found that a lot of the research she used was old for such new research.. For example when talking about how the police handle rape cases it was research from early 2000 and was quite negative. I would hope things have changed since then but perhaps I'm wrong as women still get blamed for male violence.
I brought this book based on the title and what I knew the subject matter was and I thought it would be more of an exploration of why victim blaming exists. We all know it exists but it was more of a exploration of what we already know with no real insite. It was an interesting read but it didn't teach me anything I didn't already know.
My favourite line from the book that resonates with me is ....
"The responsibility and blame sits squarely with the oppressor and the oppressive structures that allow the oppression to continue. It is not on the shoulders of the victim of abuse and oppression to protect themselves from the oppressor"
It's so awful that we live in a world where only "classic" rape or violence will ever get a conviction and that means that the woman is described as not too pretty to excite the man intentionally, wearing the right clothes not too provocative, has a good job, no mental health issues, no criminal convictions, didn't drink or take drugs, took place in daylight, she protected herself and screamed and attacked back and it was by a stranger and also witnessed. God help the women that don't fall into this category because you will never be believed.
I could of just turned to the back page to get the answer I wanted that women are not too blame at all for any male violence.
I brought this book based on the title and what I knew the subject matter was and I thought it would be more of an exploration of why victim blaming exists. We all know it exists but it was more of a exploration of what we already know with no real insite. It was an interesting read but it didn't teach me anything I didn't already know.
My favourite line from the book that resonates with me is ....
"The responsibility and blame sits squarely with the oppressor and the oppressive structures that allow the oppression to continue. It is not on the shoulders of the victim of abuse and oppression to protect themselves from the oppressor"
It's so awful that we live in a world where only "classic" rape or violence will ever get a conviction and that means that the woman is described as not too pretty to excite the man intentionally, wearing the right clothes not too provocative, has a good job, no mental health issues, no criminal convictions, didn't drink or take drugs, took place in daylight, she protected herself and screamed and attacked back and it was by a stranger and also witnessed. God help the women that don't fall into this category because you will never be believed.
I could of just turned to the back page to get the answer I wanted that women are not too blame at all for any male violence.
braun_jk28's review
A ton of redundancy. I really wanted to read and learn more about the intricacies of victim blaming and how to dissect it, but I couldn’t get over the feeling of deja vu when every page seemed the same.
grumpypants's review
2.0
I find it hard to give a star rating for this book, because I feel like I don't know enough about the topic to judge the book, but I'll just try to give my limited perspective.
First of all, the book wasn't really what I expected and others might feel like that too. From the title, I expected a relatively in depth exploration of why victim blaming exists - what structures in society, what cultural, religious beliefs lead to it? And there is some of that towards the very end of the book but it feels to me relatively superficial.
What this book does much more of is exploring what victim blaming looks like and what kind of victim blaming statements people believe in. I thought that was interesting as well, but it might not be what people come looking for in this book.
The writing in this book is academic (at least for something you can pick up in a bookstore) and I know that can lead to a certain amount of repetition, but there was a lot of repetition in this book, so I found myself skimming/reading very quickly towards the end. Other reviews have pointed out problems in the quality of research present in this book. I am not qualified to speak on that, but I think it's worth mentioning.
Some high points in this book for me were the chapters on victim blaming in mental health and the two chapters talking about the author's own studies talking to sexual assault victims and professionals. I thought they were interesting, insightful and thought provoking.
In the end I give this book two stars because I don't think I could recommend it to others with a very clear conscience, but I personally enjoyed it a bit more than that and I am glad I read it, even if just as an entry into hopefully more in depth literature on this topic.
First of all, the book wasn't really what I expected and others might feel like that too. From the title, I expected a relatively in depth exploration of why victim blaming exists - what structures in society, what cultural, religious beliefs lead to it? And there is some of that towards the very end of the book but it feels to me relatively superficial.
What this book does much more of is exploring what victim blaming looks like and what kind of victim blaming statements people believe in. I thought that was interesting as well, but it might not be what people come looking for in this book.
The writing in this book is academic (at least for something you can pick up in a bookstore) and I know that can lead to a certain amount of repetition, but there was a lot of repetition in this book, so I found myself skimming/reading very quickly towards the end. Other reviews have pointed out problems in the quality of research present in this book. I am not qualified to speak on that, but I think it's worth mentioning.
Some high points in this book for me were the chapters on victim blaming in mental health and the two chapters talking about the author's own studies talking to sexual assault victims and professionals. I thought they were interesting, insightful and thought provoking.
In the end I give this book two stars because I don't think I could recommend it to others with a very clear conscience, but I personally enjoyed it a bit more than that and I am glad I read it, even if just as an entry into hopefully more in depth literature on this topic.
sianami's review
4.0
Very thorough and powerful book on victim blaming of women after sexual violence committed by men. Lots of food for thought but also some disturbing segments. Would have preferred less of the "methods section of a PhD thesis" parts however. I would also have liked more specifics from the author of how she would recommend teaching about/preventing violence against women rather than just what was shown to be harmful.