Catholic school blames sexy clothing for rape, harassment; students protest

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Female students of a Catholic high school in Michigan, United States protested after being told that wearing provocative clothing contributes to the bad behavior of boys and men.

The remarks were made by a campus life administrator at the Divine Child High School in Dearborn, as per ABC affiliate WXYZ-TV Detroit on June 7. The administrator, who delivered the lecture in the last week of May, was assigned to teach about sexual harassment and rape, and apparently placed the blame on girls who allegedly dress provocatively.

A week later, about 40 female students staged a protest in school where they wore paper targets on their uniforms for being “targeted.” They also plastered posters around the school, which read, “Instead of publicly shaming girls for dressing how they want, teach men not to oversexualize women’s bodies.”

The students said they were told to remove the papers or they would face detention, but the school officials denied making the order. As per a statement, the school administration said they have no record of students being suspended or given detention as a result of the protest.

“To that end, we have discussed these concerns with some students and parents and welcome input from all of our stakeholders…” the school added. “While we are confident in the message and value of the program, this input from our community has and will help us continue to improve our delivery of this important information to our students.”

Meanwhile, one father, who chose not to be identified, was in full support of his daughter’s taking part in the protest. He lauded the girls for making themselves heard and added that the approach in teaching sex education to the students was wrong. Cody Cepeda/JB

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