If Reporting A Robbery Was Like Reporting A Rape

If Reporting A Robbery Was Like Reporting A Rape

What if law enforcement talked to people who have been robbed the same way they often treat people who have been sexually assaulted?

A new video written and directed by Cynthia Kao shows how absurd common responses to sexual assault allegations seem within the context of a robbery.

In the video, two police officers question a man about a laptop stolen from his home and continually suggest that the robbery was his fault -- a nod to the victim-blaming so common in sexual assault cases.

"Flashing your goods for all the world to see? Kinda sounds like you were asking for it," one cop says when the man says his laptop was in front of a window.

The officers also ask if the victim had been drinking, question the "lack of evidence," and tell the robbed man that filing a report will only cause more trouble. Sexual assault survivors commonly hear these questions from police officers, which in turn discourages them from charging their assailants or even reporting the assault in the first place.

We wouldn't blame someone for becoming a laptop-theft victim -- don't assault survivors deserve the same?

Watch the full video above.

Before You Go

Surviving In Numbers: Stories Of Sexual Assault Survivors

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