In Which I Destroy A TRA Talking Point
They're Either Liars, Fools or Rapists (Probably All Three)
So, there’s this talking point amongst TRAs that gets trotted out frequently to the point of tedium in which any TRA will ask as a “gotcha” question, and it gets asked so many times that I reflexively have to wonder if they’re not secretly 2nd Amendment Republicans.
“Do you think a sign will stop a rapist?”
As a matter of fact, yes. I do.
First, I’d like to explain the mindset of a rapist: they don’t want any witnesses, they don’t want to get caught and they certainly aren’t going to put themselves in a position where they can’t easily flee the scene of their crime, in particular a restroom with only one way in and out.
The whole point of being a rapist is to not be seen. A rapist relies on invisibility and the last thing a rapist wants is to draw attention to themselves.
And certainly, no rapist is going to commit a rape in front of a bunch of bystanders, unless those bystanders happen to be rapists themselves.
And rape is also a crime of opportunity. Rarely is a woman assaulted by a stalker. A perpetrator selects his victim because by her unintentional actions, she has made herself an easy target.
Such as wandering into a room with only one exit.
If public restrooms become a free-for-all, the rapist will go unnoticed because no one will be the least surprised at the presence of a man in a women's restroom.
There really isn’t a special group of males that doesn’t have within its ranks other men who don’t pose a risk to the safety and security of women.
Especially in light of stories like these:
Richard Rodriguez, 30, filmed a woman in a bathroom stall at the Potomac Mills Mall, Prince William County Police said,” reported NBC Washington. His victim was a 35-year-old woman who was in a bathroom stall when “she saw a bag moved toward her under the stall divider.” According to police, Rodriguez had been filming her.
Apparently, when the victim rushed out of the stall to confront the man, he had already moved to another woman just one stall over. “The victim alerted the woman and then contacted mall security of the shopping center on 2700 block of Potomac Mills Circle in Woodbridge, Virginia,” noted NBC Washington.
Reports suspect that this was not Rodriguez’s first time peeping on women by dressing himself up as woman to enter a restroom; disturbingly, he likely spied on a 53-year-old woman in May of 2015 and a 35-year-old and her 5-year-old daughter back in October.
“Rodriguez, of Fredericksburg, was charged with three counts of unlawful filming of a non-consenting person and three counts of peeping,” reported NBC Washington.
In late March, charges were filed against Jason Pomare, 33, for allegedly disguising himself as a woman, sneaking into the women’s restroom at a Macy’s department store and secretly videotaping hours of footage of women in bathroom stalls.
Pomare reportedly disguised himself with a wig and fake breasts; he kept his video camera with him in a small purse.
The suspect “was charged Tuesday with six counts of unlawful use of a concealed camera for purposes of sexual gratification. After his arrest, investigators said a video camera found in his purse had ‘hours’ of video of women using the restroom inside the store,” reports NBC4 News.
In October, The University of Toronto had to change their gender-neutral bathrooms back to bathrooms separated based on biology “after two separate incidents of ‘voyeurism’ were reported on campus September 15 and 19. Male students within the University’s Whitney Hall student residence were caught holding their cellphones over female students’ shower stalls and filming them as they showered.”
A Seattle man, citing transgender bathrooms laws, was able to gain access to a women’s locker-room at a public recreational center while little girls were changing for swim practice.
The man walked into the women’s locker-room—on two occasions—and began undressing, cited the “new state rule that allows people to choose a bathroom based on gender identity.”
“It was a busy time at Evans Pool around 5:30 p.m. Monday February 8,” reports KING5 News. “The pool was open for lap swim. According to Seattle Parks and Recreation, a man wearing board shorts entered the women’s locker room and took off his shirt. Women alerted staff, who told the man to leave, but he said ‘the law has changed and I have a right to be here.’”
Subsequent to this new rule, no one called the police on this man who reportedly came back a second time when young girls were changing into their swimsuits for swim practice.
So, yes, putting a sign on an entrance that clearly states that women (and only women) are allowed beyond this point does make all the difference and anyone who tells you it doesn’t is either a fool, liar or a rapist.
Or maybe all the above.