Should Victims Bear Some Of The Blame?

There were a couple of central Texas crime stories worthy of note this morning.

• Soldier leads police on high speed chase 
• Murder suicide on the Coryell County courthouse steps 

Should Victims Bear Some Of The Blame?
The BBC has a story on a recent survey in the UK that found that more women than men were likely to think that women rape victims may bear some of the blame for their victimization.

The study found that women were less forgiving of the victim than men.

Of the women who believed some victims should take responsibility, 71% thought a person should accept responsibility when getting into bed with someone, compared with 57% of men.

This points to dilemma of placing the blame where it really belongs, on the attacker and the fact that often times a victim's poor choices lead to them being more likely to become a victim. The sad fact is that in many crimes, the victim's choices make them more vulnerable to those who would take advantage of them.

The really difficult part is how to address this? How to educate those potential victims so they don't make poor choices while showing compassion to them if they do make the choices that led to their victimization.