I’ve seen a few people posting about how women are never asking for it. Of course this is true – no woman is ever asking to be sexually abused. I remember one country I went to where men were unlikely to be prosecuted for rape if a woman was wearing a bikini – totally unacceptable.
I wondered what my nearest equivalent to this was. Maybe picturing myself walking down a dark alley counting out a wad of £50 notes between hands. Would I be asking to be mugged? In the precise interpretation of English I obviously would not be asking. But in the sense that I was putting myself at risk I guess you might say that. But that would not in any way reduce the wrong that a mugger would be doing. Physical abuse is physical abuse. It is wrong no matter what the victim does. In the same way the behaviour of women should not in any way reduce the guilt of an attacker.
We also can have another effect on others. Showing extravagance in a situation where people are suffering as a result of poverty can be offensive. I remember when we were in a refugee camp some of the western women wore headscarves to avoid causing offence.
To decide how we should behave in respect to others is tough. I look forward to a society where we are not constrained by the risk from others, or the risk of offending others, but we are not there.