"What women have recounted here helps confirm the theory that to grow up as a woman is to receive a long training in self-denial and self-blame, in all areas of her life, and specifically, in relation to anything sexual. We can end up feeling guilty about practically anything.
One woman, who had blamed herself after rape, wrote,
"Several years later I was astonished to find that I also felt guilty when being the recipient of an obscene phone call!" [Brent]
But the guilt does not necessarily remain with us forever. The stories here show the struggle of women in thousands, and all over London, to stop blaming themselves. The guilt often turns to anger:
"I was brought up to believe that any sexual assault on me was entirely my doing, which I now believe to be totally wrong - I felt powerless. Also I learned I could hate enough to want to kill."[Haringey]
from Ask Any Women by Ruth E. Hall (1985), Falling Wall Press
One woman, who had blamed herself after rape, wrote,
"Several years later I was astonished to find that I also felt guilty when being the recipient of an obscene phone call!" [Brent]
But the guilt does not necessarily remain with us forever. The stories here show the struggle of women in thousands, and all over London, to stop blaming themselves. The guilt often turns to anger:
"I was brought up to believe that any sexual assault on me was entirely my doing, which I now believe to be totally wrong - I felt powerless. Also I learned I could hate enough to want to kill."[Haringey]
from Ask Any Women by Ruth E. Hall (1985), Falling Wall Press
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