A significantly larger number of persons in the middle class [91%] had a clearer understanding of perceptions of rape than those of the working class [90%]. This is possibly because they had higher chances of accessing information via the press and were also likely to comprehend the issues surrounding rape and other forms of sexual violence better because of the higher level of education. Most people in the middle class [80%] thought that it was the perpetrator’s fault for rape cases However, a more significant number of those in the middle class [7%] than those in the working class [3%] indicated that they did not know whose fault it is and who to blame for rape. 4.1.2 Dressing The study revealed that a significant number of the respondents, [61%] of males and [63%] of females found that the way in which a woman dresses could cause a man to rape her. The respondents mentioned that when women wear clothes that are too tight or too short that is “provocative dressing” with the possibility of driving a man to rape. Past research, however, dismisses this argument as merely a myth that seeks to excuse the criminal behaviour of men. Martha Burt20, in her groundbreaking research, described rape myths as “prejudicial, stereotyped, or false beliefs about rape, rape victims, and rapists.” She gave the “women ask for it” attitude as one such rape myth. According to RapeCrisis,21 it is a myth that a woman who gets sexually assaulted 'asked for it' by the way she dresses or acts. RapeCrisis argued that attractiveness has very little significance in whether a woman gets raped or not as there is a great diversity in the way targeted women act or dress. Rather than their physical appearance, it is women’s vulnerability that causes them to get raped, verifying that rape is a crime of power rather than lust. However in the study, a higher number of men [6%] than women [3%] indicated that they did not know if dressing contributed to women being raped. While the majority of those without tertiary education [63%] thought that dressing matters, the greater number of people who said they did not know if dressing would contribute to an individual being raped were those with tertiary education. The responses to the question of whose fault it is likely to be when a woman gets raped, with [8%] of those aged under 30 saying it is the victim’s fault coupled with the fact that more people in this same age group [63%] than those above 30 [61%] believed that the way in which a woman dresses could make her a rape target, is a disturbing finding. It points to the development of a generation that excuses rape, blaming the victim or the victim’s appearance rather than perceiving rape for the pure criminality that it is. Class too was not really a factor on attitudes to dressing, as most of the respondents both in the middle class [60%] and in the working class [62%] responding that dressing had a bearing on people getting raped. 4.1.3 Rape of commercial Sex Workers A study examining the circumstances of prostitutes in reported rape trials in Britain, 22 Australia and Canada revealed that sex workers suffer a high incidence of sexual assault, and that, for a long time, it was almost impossible for them to get criminal justice. Charges of rape made by sex workers were often not taken seriously by the police and courts because prostitutes were viewed as inherently unchaste and untrustworthy; ‘common’ women, whose word could not be trusted, always consented to sex, and 20 21 22 Burt, M.R. (1980). Cultural myths and support for rape. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 38, page 217-230. RapeCrisis (2013) Common Myths About Rape, Rape Crisis- England and Wales http://www.rapecrisis.org.uk/commonmyths2.php. B. Sullivan, (2003) ‘Can a Prostitute be Raped? Sex Workers, Women and the Politics of Rape Law Reform’ (2003).