After a female student was assaulted near campus over the weekend, Tufts University Police Department (TUPD) sent an email alerting the student body of a series of similar nearby assaults that appear to have been committed by the same attacker.
The email read, "In these incidents, women have reported being grabbed from behind by a man and indecently assaulted before scaring off the attacker. The target is typically a lone female, usually wearing a skirt or dress, who is walking late at night or early in the morning from the Porter Square or Davis Square MBTAStations."
Some on campus have criticized the email, saying that there was no need for TUPD to mention the attire of the victims. Doing so, they say, implies fault on the victims' part for wearing more revealing clothes.
We believe TUPD implied no such thing and moreover, the arguments that TUPD should have omitted the description of the victims from the email mistakenly prioritizes political correctness over student safety.
If women who wear dresses and skirts are more likely to be victimized by this particular attacker — which may be the case — that in no way implies those women are to blame for being attacked. No one is telling women how to dress, and no one is arguing that a sexual assault is more justified if it is perpetrated against someone who's wearing a skirt.
There is a world of difference between blaming the victims and giving students important information about whom this attacker is targeting. Some women may choose to take some precautions as a result of that information that they otherwise wouldn't have taken. They may, for example, choose to wear more conservative clothes if they know they're going to be walking alone late at night, or they may be especially vigilant at night if they know they're dressed more revealingly.
A very small yet ignorant minority may mistakenly infer fault on the victims' part when they learn that the victims were dressed in skirts or dresses. That would be a disgraceful, sexist debasement, and it would be inexcusable. Still, it is not TUPD's job to anticipate that reaction.
TUPD's job is to provide as much information as possible about potential assailants, so that students may make the most informed decisions they can about staying safe. That an attacker might be targeting women based on their manner of dress is disgusting. However, it may be the reality, and students need to be aware of it.
