Stop the teenage slut-shaming

It’s a bad time to be a teenage girl.

In August, a judge sentenced a 49-year-old Montana teacher to 30 days in jail for the rape of a 14-year-old student. Why? According to the judge, the student—who committed suicide before the case went to trial—was “older than her chronological age” and “as much in control of the situation” as the man.

Similarly, in August, a U.K. judge levied a suspended, eight-month sentence on a man convicted of raping a 13-year-old girl because the teen was “predatory” and “egging” him on.

Such rulings from those tasked to protect children are stomach-turning. They're also evidence of a pervasive, slut-shaming attitude among those in authority.

Take, for example, the mother who took to the Internet last week under the guise of protecting her sons. In a blog post titled “FYI (if you're a teenage girl),” Kimberly Hall, director of women's ministry at a Texas church, advised girls against posting provocative selfies to social-media sites:

“Did you know that once a male sees you in a state of undress, he can't quickly un-see it? You don't want [the Hall] boys to only think of you in this sexual way, do you?”

Incidentally, the post was accompanied by a picture of one of Hall's sons, posing shirtless. She's since tried to erase her digital hypocrisy by removing the photos, but what's been seen online, of course, cannot be unseen.

Here's a tip, Mrs. Hall: Advise your sons not to objectify or sexualize girls. Teach your sons, instead, how to respect them as equals.

It's time for those in authority to stop blaming teenage girls for the ways in which boys and men perceive and treat them. It's the very least we can do to protect them from objectification, unwarranted shame and harm.