Why Women Are Blamed For Everything: Exposing the Culture of Victim-Blaming

‘The kind of book that has you screaming Yes! Yes! Yes! Now I get it! on almost every page’ Caitlin Moran

‘Dr Taylor sets out a compelling case … gives voice and agency to women who have experienced trauma and violence’ Morning Star

She asked for it. She was flirting. She was drinking. She was wearing a revealing dress. She was too confident. She walked home alone. She stayed in that relationship. She was naive. She didn’t report soon enough. She didn’t fight back. She wanted it. She lied about it. She comes from a bad area. She was vulnerable. She should have known. She should have seen it coming. She should have protected herself.

The victim blaming of women is prevalent and normalised in society both in the UK, and around the world.

What is it that causes us to blame women who have been abused, raped, trafficked, assaulted or harassed by men? Why are we uncomfortable with placing all of the blame on the perpetrators for their crimes against women and girls?

Based on three years of doctoral research and ten years of practice with women and girls, Dr Jessica Taylor explores the many reasons we blame women for male violence committed against them. Written in her unique style and backed up by decades of evidence, this book exposes the powerful forces in society and individual psychology which compel us to blame women subjected to male violence.