This is in response to Diana Hines' remarks in yesterday's article "Some women see safety in numbers." A woman suggesting that women "ask" to be raped because of what they wear or because they walk alone shows the pervasiveness and seriousness of rape myths in our culture.

Myths like "a woman asks to be raped" are causes of and protectors of rape, not the victims as Hines suggests.

This is dangerous especially because people who think these nonsensical assertions are likely to one day make up a jury on rape trials. This is why only a small percentage of verdicts come back guilty in rape cases.

This is characteristic of a rape-supportive culture where these myths can aid rapes in happening and help the rapists getting away with it. To show the absurdity of these rape myths, I would like to ask: When people are murdered or robbed, are they commonly said to be asking for it? If victims ask to be raped, why are babies, elderly and mentally retarded people sometimes victims?

If women ask to be raped by walking alone at night, what about when the "male protector" who walks her home rapes her?

What about when women are raped by their own husband, boyfriend, father, friend or acquaintance? In fact, women are much more likely to raped by someone they know.

Rape is never the victim's fault or desire. It is inexcusable. Stop blaming the victims and aiding a rape culture. Start holding the rapists accountable.