In return for this loss of freedom, men offer you the false hope that locking yourself inside after dark will prevent them from beating you, raping you, or killing you. The United States Department of Justice documents that eight out of ten women recognize the face of their attacker, a man they trust enough to allow into their home or someone who already shares their home. According to the latest FBI statistics, one out of every four women will be targeted for sexual assault, and a woman is beaten every nine seconds. For further insight into the way men manipulate language to avoid accountability for their violence against women, please see Talking Back, by bell hooks, and Fugitive Information, by Kay Hagen. It is no accident that you are led to believe that you are somehow responsible for men's violence against you.
Protectionism is most men's idea of women's self-defense.
Protectionism is one of our rape culture's most effective means of imposing misplaced shame, blame, and guilt onto women so that men will suffer very few negative consequences for their choice to use violence against women. The FBI documents that rape is the most underreported of all violent crimes. Many women reporting assault fear they will be disbelieved or blamed for the violence that men have inflicted upon them. The answer, sadly, is because he knows that he will most likely get away with it. This dream is universally reported among women who grow up in this society.