'Short skirts and high heels risk rape' warning lands male MP in sexism storm

PUBLISHED: 18:54 EST, 26 January 2013 | UPDATED: 08:51 EST, 27 January 2013

Richard Graham, MP for Gloucester, pictured, has sparked outrage for saying that women put themselves at risk of rape by dressing provocatively

A Tory MP has come under fire for saying that women are putting themselves at risk of rape by wearing short skirts and high heels.

Richard Graham’s comments sparked outrage among women’s groups, who insist that if a woman becomes a victim of rape it is not because of her dress style.

Mr Graham, who in the past likened a night out in his constituency city of Gloucester to ‘decadent Rome’, said: ‘A night out is about having fun without putting yourself at risk.

‘If you are a young woman on her own trying to walk back home through a park early in the morning in a tight, short skirt and high shoes, and there’s a predator . . . if you are blind drunk wearing those clothes how able are you to get away?

‘Although we have a pretty heavy police presence, life doesn’t give you full protection from a predator all the time. You have got to help look after yourself as well.

‘It’s not about the impact of your clothes on a potential predator in my view – it’s about whether the clothes you’re wearing make it harder to get away from a predator.’

Mr Graham’s comments come just days after actress Joanna Lumley said women should dress demurely to avoid being ‘raped or robbed’.

Speaking at a Marks & Spencer campaign launch last week, Ms Lumley said: ‘Don’t look like trash, don’t get drunk, don’t be sick down your front, don’t break your heels and stagger about in the wrong clothes at midnight. This is bad.

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‘I promise it is better to look after yourself properly . . . don’t be sick in the gutter at midnight in a silly dress with no money to get a taxi home because somebody will take advantage of you – either rape you, or they’ll knock you on the head or they’ll rob you.’

But the MP’s comments provoked anger from charities.

The MP's comments have provoked anger among women's groups, who insist that if a woman becomes a victim of rape, if is not because of her dress style

A spokeswoman for Gloucestershire Rape Crisis Centre said rape was the crime, not drunkenness, and that the offence was ‘stimulated by desire for power and to humiliate and degrade’.

The spokeswoman added: ‘It’s got nothing to do with how you are dressed or whether you are drunk.’

The actress Joanna Lumley, pictured, came under fire recently for saying that women should dress demurely to avoid 'being raped or robbed'

Jo Wood, a trustee of Rape Crisis England and Wales, said: ‘These comments have set us back about 100 years.

'It doesn’t matter if you are off your face and lying naked on a bench – that man takes it upon himself to rape you.

‘This should be about putting the blame back on perpetrators.’

Vivienne Hayes, of the Women’s Resource Centre, added: ‘Such comments frighteningly normalise victim-blaming.

‘They reallocate blame from the perpetrator to the victim.

'The problem is not female vulnerability but a macho culture which produces the notion of male entitlement – a culture which consistently fails women through disbelief, victim-blaming and failure to investigate.’

Chief Inspector Richard Burge, of Gloucestershire Police, agreed being drunk could put people at risk.

He said: ‘We would appeal to everyone not to drink so much that you don’t know what’s happening.

‘Excessive alcohol can make you vulnerable so stay with friends and if you are with a friend, try to look out for them too.’

The Liberal Democrat MP who sparked outrage for saying ‘the Jews’ had not learned from the murder of six million in the Holocaust apologised last night.

Bradford MP David Ward said he was sorry for any ‘unintended offence’.

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Isn't a 'storm', it's the truth

- Gareth , Chester, 27/1/2013 08:22

Click to rate Rating 287

What happened to freedom?.. A woman should be able to dress as she wishes & our courts should sentence these rapist scum-bags to 25yrs hard labour no human rights whatsoever.

- Bob Mugabe , This doomed country, United Kingdom, 27/1/2013 08:21

Click to rate Rating 234

no,no,no .....how far out of touch are these people, NO-ONE ASKS to be raped, by the same token if you have nice things in a nice house and leave it unattended when you go on holiday you deserve to be burgled, if you have a nice car you are asking the hyenas to break in and rob it. . . . . GET a grip on the CRIMINALS

- Huggy , Preston, 27/1/2013 08:20

Click to rate Rating 418

Can anyone add some facts? What do the statistics show about the relationship between clothing and rape?

- monoclemike , SW France, United Kingdom, 27/1/2013 08:20

Click to rate Rating 243

I too agree with him. What worries me mostly, however, is that these young woman appear to have so little self respect and feel they have to dress in this unattractive way - I am sure their faces are pretty and they have lovely personalities - there is absolutely no need to "let it all hang out" to attract the opposite sex. Drinking so much that they roll around, helpless in the gutter is disgusting beyond all belief.

- JN Wiltshire , Wiltshire, 27/1/2013 08:20

Click to rate Rating 300

I'm a woman and I think he and Joanna Lumley have valid points. They are saying to women 'Don't get yourself in silly situations.' which is not sexist, it is sensible. Don't get blind drunk so you don't know where you are and who you are with (then they can't take advantage) and don't attempt to walk home alone after a night out. Good advice.

- Mrs DJP , in the country, 27/1/2013 08:18

Click to rate Rating 793

If you have money hanging out of your back pocket, your going to attract thieves. The same goes for short skirts. I know it shouldn't happen ..... But fact IT DOES!

- Richard M , Stockholm, Sweden (ex pat), 27/1/2013 08:18

Click to rate Rating 445

He is right and all this outrage from the do-gooders is no help at all. The man is stating the obvious.....if a girl wears trainers she will be able to run away if attacked......simple.

- George , epping, 27/1/2013 08:17

Click to rate Rating 265

Do you leave your car or home unlocked with valuables on display? No, because (unfortunately) some members of society see something they want and feel they can just take it.......

- MB , London, 27/1/2013 08:10

Click to rate Rating 436

I love women and the female form in all sizes and can control my urges ... But here are the facts as I see it .. We have young ladies in my town dressed in as little as possible half exposed , smashed out of their heads .. We also have hormone filled males looking at a smorgasbord of temptation ... While I back a ladies right to be able to walk naked or half dressed if she likes it's not a clever thing to do or one that's safe ... How about a bit of mystic and make a guy earn the right to see all your charms ??

- hank , Milton Keynes, 27/1/2013 08:08

Click to rate Rating 536

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