WARNING: This article discusses rape and sexual assault.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is no stranger to controversial campaigns to get those sweet media mentions, so let’s not kid ourselves in that it knows exactly what it’s doing.
The latest campaign from these numpties urges people to become vegans by comparing rape and sexual assault survivors to – yep – animals.
To give PETA the benefit of the doubt here and to say it didn’t antitipate the retraumatisng effect of this campaign, or to even say it wouldn’t anticipate this level of backlash, is naive. This is the modus operandi. Getting people to care about animals to the level that change occurs isn’t an easy task, but still.
@peta no survivor of sexual assault should have to go through their trauma being compared to an animal’s when we’ve already been dehumanized
— dismay princess (@UnburntWitch) November 3, 2016
I am not going to link to the @Peta video mimicking rape survivor narratives to humanize cows but I bet ya’ll know how I feel about it.
— Lindsey (@CardsAgstHrsmt) November 3, 2016
@peta This is awful, and insensitive. You continue to spit in the faces of margainilized and victimized groups to push your message.
— Kasey (@bastylefilegirl) November 3, 2016
@peta Women being raped is NOT equivalent to an animal being made into a pan con bistec
— E (@Cevelyn19) November 3, 2016
@peta y’all have used fat folks, the holocaust and now rape victims as shitty shock-value publicity and it’s abhorrent. It’s disgusting.
— toast lastnamé (@capncrybaby) November 3, 2016
Rather than engage in the conversation – or apologise for quite literally treating rape victims with less ethical treatment than they promote for animals – PETA have been replying to negative feedback with the same tone-deaf response:
“Sexual abuse is a serious issue. Acknowledging it for animals doesn’t take away from humans.”
That’s not going down well, either.
@UnburntWitch Sexual abuse is a serious issue. Acknowledging it for animals doesn’t take away from humans. https://t.co/hZXwEdJTOd
— PETA (@peta) November 3, 2016
excuse you I’m a rape survivor and i don’t need you handwaving my criticism of being compared to an animal by explaining abuse to me https://t.co/Mu30Dnmrx2
— dismay princess (@UnburntWitch) November 3, 2016
@peta Exploiting tragedy for personal gain is not okay either you know.
— Snart (@RiTheWri) November 3, 2016
@peta it does when you use sexual assault survivors as a marketing tool.
— Miranda Jayne Boyd (@mirandajboyd) November 3, 2016
@peta you just dehumanized actual human assault survivors. Whom are already dehumanized in a society that doesn’t take them seriously.
— queen of peace (@jennameowww) November 3, 2016
Cool. Alternatively, if you want to support rape and sexual assault survivors, or if you want to access telephone and online counselling, check out any one of the services below.
