From one of my new favourite blogs (I have crime-y elements in my writing, I’m not weird! Or no more than you… 😉 ) a very good point about sexual assault and what men can do about it.

CrimeDime

“I have a 

Sister. Mother. Aunt. Wife. Cousin. Daughter. Girlfriend. Grandmother. Friend. Coach. Teacher. Neighbor. 

and I’m very protective of her.”

How many times have you heard a man say this sentence? And isn’t the context of the conversation usually intimate partner violence, sexual assault, or violence against women in general?

Men say this to show solidarity, to say, “Listen, I care because it’s personal to me. There’s a woman in my life. I can’t stand the thought of her being hurt, and that’s why I take this seriously.”

But as much as this is driven by well-intentioned desires to be allies in addressing violence against women, making this seemingly innocuous statement undermines the best of intentions.

This sentence is problematic:

• It suggests that women need male protection, as though the answer to these crimes is for each woman to have a male provide physical defense against those…

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