OPINION: Being topless not an invitation for being groped

FOOTAGE emerges of a woman being groped by a stranger. You'd think his actions would be condemned.

FOOTAGE emerges of a woman being groped by a stranger.

You'd think his actions would be condemned, but take a quick look at the internet, and he's absolved of all blame.

Suddenly a story that should have focused on a woman being sexually assaulted in broad daylight turns into the argument that she was inviting it because she happened to be topless under a coat of glitter at a music festival.

I'm not sure if the men I have hung around with all my life are different to the men the folk of the internet seem to be familiar with, but I don't know a single man who would think it all right to grope a woman just because she's topless.

Whether or not you agree with women being topless in public (it's been good for men for generations right?) is not the issue here.

The issue is someone invading another person's space and touching them without consent.

'Another girl who dresses like a skank but hates the attention,' wrote one woman.

If you stole someone's handbag because it was in plain sight it would still be a crime.

Comments about the story online ranged from awful to shocking considering we're living in 2018.

Many of the people demonising the topless woman were, you guessed it, women.

"Another girl who dresses like a skank but hates the attention," wrote one woman.

"She got what she deserved," commented another woman.

Another female commented that she was looking for trouble by being topless.

Yet another said she should have covered up if she didn't want to be attacked.

One more woman jumped on board, asking what kind of "stupid female" would walk around topless and then "dare object when someone gropes her".

If the glaring problem in this situation isn't obvious then it's a sad day for humanity.

We've sexualised women to the point where something that is totally overlooked when it comes to men (being topless) is considered not just inappropriate, but an acceptable invitation to being abused for women.

Normal men are not animals incapable of holding back at the sight of breasts, but this kind of attitude slaps that assumption on them.

One thing is for sure, if a man went and groped a topless man, no one would be telling the victim to stick a shirt on.

Originally published as OPINION: Being topless not an invitation for being groped