Agony aunt faces criticism for telling rape victim to be grateful he wore a condom'
She wrote that the reader's behaviour gave the idea that she was 'like a girl who had been around'.
A top teen magazine in Singapore is being blasted over the advice given to a rape victim by one of their columnists. The controversy erupted when the magazine published a reader’s letter in the ‘Dear Kelly’ column under the title ‘Raped after lying to my mum’.
Kelly Chopard, who writes an advice column for Teenage magazine, told a reader who wrote to her about an alleged sexual assault that her behaviour gave the idea that she was “like a girl who had been around” and should be “grateful he wore a condom”. The girl revealed that her date had raped her after she had drunk alcohol for the first time. In response Chopard wrote: "You gave the idea that everything was OK, you accepted wine, then there was the dancing, kissing. You can’t blame him for thinking a sexual connection was all right. Frankly, I understand why the guy misunderstood."
Chopard’s comments have angered many of the magazine’s readers who have accused the writer and the magazine of promoting a culture of victim-blaming. They also say that the way she addressed the topic was insensitive and completely unprofessional.
Teenage magazine took to their Facebook page in defense of their columnist and wrote: