- Joanna Lumley sparks outrage as she says women should dress demurely at night to avoid being 'raped or robbed'
- Actress's advice contradicts message from rape crisis centres who say the way women dress is never to blame for rape
- Rape charity says women should not be forced to 'live under curfew'
- Twitter responds: 'No Joanna, alcohol doesn't rape people, rapists do'
By Laura Cox
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Hardly a role model: Joanna Lumley as her character Patsy Stone in the television show Absolutely Fabulous
Patsy Stone is the last woman you would expect â€" or indeed want â€" to dispense motherly advice, particularly when it comes to alcohol.
But Joanna Lumley, who plays the perennially drunk Absolutely Fabulous character, is more than happy to dole out wisdom to the younger generation.
Miss Lumley, 66, yesterday urged young women to stop behaving badly and take more responsibility for their actions, warning them that binge drinking and dressing ‘like trash’ made them vulnerable.
She said: ‘I promise you it is better to look after yourself properly, which means behave properly, be polite, be on time, dress properly â€" I don’t mean dully â€" but 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 they’ll rape you, or they’ll knock you on the head or they’ll rob you.
‘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.Â
‘It’s not me being a snob about it. It’s not me being an old woman talking to young women, it’s just standard practice for how our species should behave. Don’t behave badly.’
Miss Lumley said she had never got so drunk that she wandered the streets at night looking dishevelled and without knowing how to get home.
But she conceded there was now ‘something in our society’ which caused young women to behave badly.
‘It could be to keep up the laddish thing which makes you look funkier,’ she said.
The actress added that she did not approve of raucous behaviour in boys either, but that girls were more vulnerable and had to be aware of ‘predators’.
She added: ‘Girls used not to get legless and now they do, and so I think that’s a trend which we should pull back from.’
Miss Lumley, who in recent years has become known for her charity and human rights work, gave her advice as she backed a Marks & Spencer campaign to encourage people to donate their old clothes each time they buy new ones.
She added that women often fail to dress appropriately â€" and usually buy clothes a size too small. ‘I think often it’s about wearing the wrong size or the wrong age and I’m very guilty of this myself,’ she said.
‘I often wear things that are clearly mutton dressed as lamb and I go “why have I got this? Why am I even holding this?â€.’
A storm is brewing on Twitter where users have said the star's comments reveal 'depressing ignorance.'
They say that rapists must must be held accountable for their actions - and it is downright dangerous for anyone to suggest that a woman could avoid a rape by dressing in a conservative manner.
One, calling herself London Feminist, said:
'Joanna Lumley seems to think alcohol rapes people. No, rapists rape people.'
Another says: 'Rape is an act of violence, not sex. To suggest women could avoid rape by drinking less or wearing different clothes is ignorant and insulting.'
Not so Ab Fab: Joanna says she 'detests' Patsy Stone, the drunken character she plays in the hit comedy Absolutely Fabulous
Vivienne Hayes of the Women's Resource Centre says: 'Such comments frighteningly normalise "victim blaming". They re-allocate blame from the perpetrator to the victim.
'It is horrifying that Ms Lumley would claim that "something in our society" has caused young women to behave badly; the focus here is entirely upon the women who have experienced rape and other forms of violence at the hands of male perpetrators, as opposed to condemning a society which breeds male rapists.
'If Ms Lumley were to understand the statistics around rape, she would know that the overwhelming majority of rapes are perpetrated by someone the woman already knows, rather than on the street.
'Would she contend that those women 'behave badly' and wear the 'wrong clothes' and are therefore to blame at the hands of men they know and have trusted?
'The problem is not that of female "vulnerability" but of a "macho culture" which produces the notion of male entitlement â€" a culture which consistently fails women through disbelief, victim blaming and failure to investigate.'
Vulnerable: Girls need to be aware of predators, Joanna says. 'Don't break your heels and stagger around in the wrong clothes at midnight, this is bad,' she adds
IS LUMLEY PERPETUATING THE RAPE MYTH?
The charity Rape Crisis has dedicated a page of its website to dispelling myths surrounding rape.
Two of the main myths repeated time and time again regarding sexual violence towards women are that a) women are 'asking for it' if they dress a certain way, and b) that they are more likely to be raped if they are out at night.
They say:
'The suggestion of avoiding walking alone, especially at night is a common suggestion to avoiding sexual assault. However, only 9% of rapes are committed by 'strangers'.
Women are raped in their homes and in the ir work places where they are less likely to be believed and even less likely to report.
This myth can control movements and restricts freedom. This can feel like women are living under a 'curfew' and that it is a woman's responsibility to be either in or out at certain times. More than 80% of rapes are committed by known men.
Regarding dress and appearance:Â
'Rape is an act of violence not sex. Women and girls of all ages, classes, culture, ability, sexuality, race and faith are raped. Attractiveness has little significance. There is a great diversity in the way targeted women act or dress. Rapists choose women based on their vulnerability not their physical appearance.'
Lumley's comments have reignited a topic that hit the headlines in 2011 when a Canadian policeman caused an outcry by telling a group of students that women should 'avoid dressing like sluts' in order to avoid being sexually assaulted.
A controversial movement named 'SlutWalk' was launched in response to the policeman's condemnation of women and saw protest marches held in Toronto, London and other major cities where women took to the streets in revealing clothing to challenge the notion that women are ever to blame for the sexual violence of men.
In September last year, the semi-naked protestors converged outside Downing Street to demand justice for rape victims and petition David Cameron to ensure the criminal justice system takes rape and sexual assault cases more seriously.
'JOANNA LUMLEY SEEMS TO THINK ALCOHOL RAPES PEOPLE. NO, RAPISTS RAPE PEOPLE': TWITTER RESPONDS TO LUMLEY'S COMMENTS
I like Joanna Lumley but it saddens me that her advice for girls is HOW NOT TO GET RAPED rather than telling boys NOT TO RAPE IN FIRST PLACE
@SoniaPoulton
Yeah staggering about p***** up with no clothes on isn't a good move, but it shouldn't warrant rape/ assult
@Fennelw
Oh Joanna Lumley, I'm so disappointed in your misguided rape comments
@elle_c_emm
?
Joanna Lumley seems to think alcohol rapes people. No, rapists rape people.
@londonfeminist
God, Joanna Lumley needs to STFU. This is a woman who smokes / starves herself to stay thin, and who's now acting the rape apologist.
@LorrieHearts
Sad to see Joanna Lumley joining the illustrious band of victim blaming rape apologists …
@nia_endingVAWG
Advising women to 'dress appropriately' is so Lord Justice Pickles. Rape existed long before the Mini Skirt was invented. < span>
@RobD
Oh Joanna Lumley how disappointing. Nobody has the right to rape you no matter what you wear or what time you are out at night.
@JulieOwenMoylan
Joanna Lumley joining the ranks of Sean Penn & other meddlesome, ignorant celebs. Leave our bodies alone #AbHag
@Madz_Grant
Joanna Lumley 'girls who get legless in a silly dress' risking #rape http://ow.ly/h5Mt5Â God damn Patsy!
@KatMcCamley
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