Education ministry disavows school book blaming rapes on victims

A textbook teaching women how avoid “provoking” men has sparked a backlash in Russia

The Russian Education Ministry has distanced itself from a controversial textbook that tells teenage girls that sexual assault often occurs because women are sending men wrong “signals” and dress “provocatively.”

The ministry released a statement on Friday, saying that the textbook is not on the government-curanted list of learning materials and “cannot be used in schools.” 

The authorities responded to the outrage over the book for the course ‘Fundamentals of Life Safety’ designed for students who are 13 and 14 years old. The course, known in Russia by its acronym OBZh, is part of the traditional school curriculum that teaches students how to act in dangerous situations and avoid hazards.

Earlier this week, Ekaterina Mizulina, who runs online content watchdog Safe Internet League, posted screenshots of the pages from the chapter teaching about “the safe conduct of women.” The chapter gives tips on how to avoid sexual assault and harrassment.

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“Many conflicts and attacks occur due to the fault of victim who signals with her appearance that she is either ‘ripe for the taking’ (found herself in the wrong place at the wrong time), compliant (very easy to get), or defenseless (drunk, frightened, aroused, or too gullible),” the book says. In order to avoid trouble, women are advised to “try not to stand out by wearing overly extravagant, flashy and unusual” clothes.

In a passage explaining “how not to become victims of assault,” women are told not to wear “very short skirts” and not to use bright makeup when visiting other people’s homes, or going to parties, cafés, bars, and concerts. “It provokes boys and men. They view it as a signal,” the book says.

Ksenia Goryacheva, deputy chair of the parliamentary committee on education, described the book’s views on sexual assault as “completely absurd.”

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“The victim of assault can never be guilty of what happened to her,” the legislator told news channel RTVI. “Regardless of the woman’s appearance and behavior, assault is always the fault of the aggressor. We need to stop justifying rapists and their actions. Men are not animals. They can control themselves and their actions,” she said.

In its statement on Friday, the Education Ministry said that, starting from 2024, OBZh has been replaced with the course titled ‘The Fundamentals of Safety and the Defense of the Fatherland’, which will have its own textbook.