Getting Past Blaming the Victims of Crime

An exhibit commemorating the city’s 135 homicide victims last year opens Tuesday morning at Central Library. It’s part of National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, which began Sunday. Established by President Ronald Reagan in 1981, the week is aimed at raising awareness about crime victims’ rights and resources. 

Michael Hurst, the executive director of Legacy House, which runs a counseling program for survivors of violence, says it’s easy – and also wrong – to blame victims for what happened to them.

"We all tend to want to blame victims. We all want to feel safe, we want to feel safe in our skins, in our homes, and in our communities, and whenever we hear about a crime – whether it’s domestic assault or sexual assault or homicide, our immediate response is to try to figure out how that could never happen to us. (We think) that victim must have been doing something that engendered that experience of violence, and I think that’s a huge myth," Hurst said.

Legacy House is helping to organize a series of events this week, including a panel discussion Wednesday on the influence of the media on attitudes about sexual assault, also at Central Library. 

More Events: Walk a Mile In Her Shoes   Legacy House Rocc-A-Thon