AKRON, Ohio, Aug. 31 (Wade Sheridan) — The Pretenders front woman Chrissie Hynde is under fire from fans and critics after faulting herself for being sexually assaulted in her new book Reckless.
In the autobiography the rockstar explains how at 21 she was raped by a member of a motorcycle gang in Ohio after he offered her a ride to a party. Instead, Hynde was taken to an abandoned house where she was assaulted.
“You can’t paint yourself into a corner and then say whose brush is this? You have to take responsibility. I mean, I was naive.”
Hynde went on to comment that other women who wear provocative clothes while walking down the street drunk were also to blame if they are attacked. “If I’m walking around drunk in my underwear and I’m drunk? Who else’s fault can it be?” she said.
“If I’m walking around and I’m very modestly dressed and I’m keeping to myself and someone attacks me, then I’d say that’s his fault. But if I’m being very lairy and putting it about and being provocative, then you are enticing someone who’s already unhinged – don’t do that. Come on! That’s just common sense. You know, if you don’t want to entice a rapist, don’t wear high heels so you can’t run from him.”
Hynde’s comments have drawn fire across social media from fans disappointed in the musician’s comments and from critics who see her words as victim blaming.
One such critic is Lucy Hastings, charity director of Victim Support, an independent charity for victims and witnesses of crime.
“Victims of sexual violence should never feel or be made to feel that they were responsible for the appalling crime they suffered – regardless of circumstances or factors which may have made them particularly vulnerable,” Hastings said.
“They should not blame themselves or be blamed for failing to prevent an attack – often they will have been targeted by predatory offenders who are responsible for their actions.”
