For example, people often say that it is perfectly rational to tell women to not dress provocatively if they want to avoid sexual assault.
This assumes that women who dress in a sexy manner are more likely to get raped.
Intuitively, this makes sense.
But it is actually true?
Obviously, conservative Muslims think so, so it not that surprising that other conservatives do.
I was unable to find a study on attire and rape, but I did find one on attire and sexual harassment:
https://scholarship.law.duke.edu/cgi/vi ... text=djglpSome quotes:
While people perceive dress to have an impact on who is assaulted, studies of rapists suggest that victim attire is not a significant factor. Instead, rapists look for signs of passiveness and submissiveness, which, studies suggest, are more likely to coincide with more body-concealing clothing.140 In a study to test whether males could determine whether women were high or low in passiveness and submissiveness, Richards and her colleagues found that men, using only nonverbal appearance cues, could accurately assess which women were passive and submissive versus those who were dominant and assertive.141 Clothing was one of the key cues: “Those females high in passivity and submissiveness (i.e., those at greatest risk for victimization) wore noticeably more body-concealing clothing (i.e., high necklines, long pants and sleeves, multiple layers).”142 This suggests that men equate body-concealing clothing with passive and submissive qualities, which are qualities that rapists look for in victims. Thus, those who wore provocative clothes would not be viewed as passive or submissive, and would be less likely to be victims of assault.
...and...
Sexual harassment is about power; therefore, a target who is dressed provocatively is not the ideal target for the would-be harasser, who appears motivated at least in part by his ability to dominate his victim. Provocative dress
does not necessarily signify submissiveness but instead may be an indication of confidence and assertiveness. It is clear, however, that comments about dress directed at plaintiffs are a component of sexual harassment allegations. Comments about dress are used to undermine working women’s authority and should be considered seriously by courts assessing sexual harassment claims.
And if we look in the footnotes of that study we find:
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177 ... 9100900408But I cannot access it.
Anyway, it would seem it is not true that dressing provocatively increases the likelihood of being sexually assaulted.