A local man, in Visalia, has been brutally assaulted and raped by a contact he made through the social application GRINDR. Read more here…
While there have been many comments supporting the victim and the LGBT community in general, there has also been a string of negative statements on various social media sites regarding this crime. These negative comments generally suggest that a gay man searching for contact through such an application “deserved what he got”, or that rape of a man by another man is insignificant, even dismissive.
Rape is rape, regardless of the gender or sexuality of the victim. Rape is a violent crime, no matter who it is carried out against, and should never be dismissed because the circumstances don’t meet traditional criteria. There is absolutely no reason to view this crime as any less significant simply because it occurred between two men. Going further, to categorize the seriousness of this brutal crime based on anyone’s sexuality is even more demeaning. And to suggest that anyone deserves to be brutalized regardless of the manner in which they reach out for contact is simply and wrong. No one deserves to be a victim of a violent crime.
We have to remember, particularly given the recent environment of bullying and sexual abuse, that it is vital to support the victims of violent crimes, not to demonize them based on perceived traditional social stereotypes. Often, many of these crimes go unreported simply because the public and media tend to suggest the victim is in some way, to blame.
Grindr is an application marketed toward men who are seeking out male contacts, but the same company also provides Blendr, a similar application targeted at the heterosexual and female community. These are only 2 of the many, many applications which are out there to connect people from various communities, genders and sexualities.
While we do not endorse any particular social media, we urge all those using social applications to make contact with others to do so in as safe a way as possible. Meeting in a public place is just one of the ways to protect yourself. Caution should be exercised in all meetings, dates and similar social situations.
If you have a story you’d like to share, or advice to others on how to protect themselves please feel free to post a comment or contact Chris Jarvis at [email protected]
