Pretenders singer Chrissie Hynde has come under intense criticism after she claimed it can be a woman's fault if she gets raped.
Hynde said that women shouldn't "wear high heels so you can't run" from rapists in an interview with the Sunday Times. The singer also said that she takes full responsibility for the time she was sexually assaulted, aged 21, because she was "walking around in my underwear" and "drunk".
She also remarked that "if you're wearing something that says 'Come and f*** me', you'd better be good on your feet."
Her comments were condemned by Lucy Hastings, director of the British charity Victim Support who said "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. 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."
Hynde came in for considerable criticism for her victim blaming, but The Guardian's Hadley Freeman raised the point that, as a victim herself, she was actually self-blaming.
Many people seem furious with Chrissie Hynde, and I get why, but I feel pity for her. Imagine blaming y/self for sthg so awful for so long.
— Hadley Freeman (@HadleyFreeman) August 30, 2015
