Goa's tourism boss links sexual assaults to bikinis

His statement may not be politically correct, but it IS correct.

It would appear that the US has successfully exported the Liberal/Progressive concept of exonerating perpetrators and blaming victims. Orwellian "Newthink" prevails.

Astonishing remarks by Tourism officials. Goa has been the tourist spot for more than 4 decades, nude, bikini clad or in full sarees!. It is not credible to blame what people wear for crime. Goa is not an uneducated, narrow minded society. It has a native population that is well attuned to the needs of the tourist. The real issue is whether the Goa and Indian governments are prepared to restrict the inflow into the state of criminally minded elements who use the konkan railway to enter Goa, commit crimes and then exit rapidly. Unless and until this aspect is dealth with, NO ONE is safe in Goa. Mr Overdorf, you should speak to real Goans who operate businesses related to tourism in Goa. You are doing Goans a very great disservice with your report as well as your profession without in depth inqiry.

The deputy Director of tourism says...The answer? According to the state's ministry of tourism, those cute pre-teens in two-pieces are asking for it. “You can't blame the locals; they have never seen such women. Foreign tourists must maintain a certain degree of modesty in their clothing. Walking on the beaches half-naked is bound to titillate the senses,” New Delhi's Mail Today newspaper quoted Pamela Mascarhenas, Goa's deputy director of tourism, as saying Friday.

How about instead of modesty in our clothing on vaca where there is water to go swimming, all people should avoid Goa as a tourist spot!! half naked on the beach?? Really?? I thought you wore pants and long sleeve shirt to the beach!! The dumbsh*t making the comment is also a woman, I think, her name is Pamela, but you never know in those countries where....! In any other country, they would be talking about how disgusting that a rape happened, instead this dumb Be-Atch, blames the victim!!! The stupidity of the lady to make such a comment says alot of her and the people of her country!! Sounds like they are nothing but a bunch unproductive members of society!!! We need to start getting rid of the unproductive members of society!! NO good comes from letting these degenerates run loose in our society!!

These comments made by Govt. officials are outrageous! It is quite unbelievable that somemone linked to the tourism sector, at the highest level, and a female at that, shoul make such inaproppriate and unwarranted remarks on what is basically a shocking crime committed by criminals against a foreign tourist. Apparently, Mr. Pacheco and Ms. Mascarenhas do not want "bikini babes" on the beaches, which leads to the conclusion that they only want "saree babes" and "burka babes". If that is the case, why do they keep advertising Goa in western countries? Do they expect Russians or any Europeans to go to the beach and the sea in trousers and shirts or long dresses? Are these people aware of lifestyles outside India? Only last month, I saw Goa's stand at BTL (Bolsa de Turismo de Lisboa). There was no mention anywhere about bikinis not being welcomed. If the Goa Govt. does not want western tourists, it should clearly state that, and stop advertising in the west. Last year, when I was in Goa, my bikini-wearing wife was walking at a beach when I noticed two guys were walking alongside her. I joined her and came back to our chairs. The two guys came back too, and sat right next to us, ogling at her throghout. They were obviously non-Goan. This is disgusting behaviour, and this way Goa will never attract foreign tourists in sizable numbers.
The economic boom and globalization dont seem to be having any impact on some Goan/Indian officials, who remain as narrow-minded as ever, helping to portray India as a very backward country. As for Ms. Mascarenhas, she should have resigned her post already, or be sacked, for putting up such a poor show!

Thats nonsense since half the women in goa run round naked in a loin cloth. Or maybe its that they think westerners cover too much off.

This is ridiculous. Even if she was completely nude, an adult man should know better than to force himself on a child.. or anyone for that matter. And just out of curiosity, what on earth do their women & children wear when swimming?

Seems to me that the point here that many are missing is that the victim in this case is a 9 year old CHILD - not a physically mature female, but a CHILD. No one, save a sexual deviant, would find anything remotely sexually attractive about a 9 year old CHILD in a bikini. Further, even if the victim had been a physically mature female, whether or not she was dressed in a bikini is NOT the reason she was raped. Rape is a crime of power, control, and dominion over another, and has nothing to do with how a victim is dressed. Hence, the reason we hear of 80 year old grandmothers being raped, or rape occurring in cultures where females are forced to cover themselves entirely. Rather, what drives individuals to rape females is their skewed perception of the victim and a desire to humiliate, denigrate, and exercise complete control. While the end result of a rape is a sexual act committed by force against an individual, the reasons for its occurrence have little to nothing to do with any sort of "sexual titillation" provided by a victim. No matter what she is or is not wearing, NO rape victim "asks" to be raped, nor should she be made to endure any further humiliation by the suggestion that she somehow contributed to the heinous act perpetrated upon her. The very notion that somehow a CHILD could be guilty of bringing such a savage and barbaric act upon herself is repugnant, uneducated, and illogical. It is incomprehensible that this so-called "Minister of Tourism," should make such outrageous and idiotic remarks, particularly in light of the fact that it appears this Minister is a female. Goa and its Minister should be far more concerned with changing the attitudes of morons and sexual deviants who hold such antiquated, misogynistic, and non-sensical views, as well as placing the blame squarely where it belongs - on the RAPIST, not the victim.

This is just crazyiness

Why is anyone surprised by this? Media in North America have been sexualizing younger and younger females for two decades now! Girls are being actively ENCOURAGED to be hypersexual, regardless of age.

It is never okay to rape anyone and it is especially offensive to the human race to rape a child. Whether or not the local community believes she was dressed "provacatively" or not, is irrelevent.

Lots of interesting observations. But She is 9 years old and it was 2 men. Need I say more!

Seeing a woman or girl in a bikini or even completely naked is no excuse to rape just as seeing a naked infant is not an excuse to sexually assault a baby. Such attitudes indicate a society somewhat derelict of humanity.

So why go to such socially backward countries in the first place? We westerners are all spoilt for choice regarding sun, sea, & sand in our own backyards without wasting money on people who act in a sub-human manner & then blame the victim for their atrocity.Its not sufficient to condemn this act: vote with your feet!

It is NOT wise to be inappropriate in another Land.

It is NOT wise to promote GOA as a "Fun in the Sun" Destination, either.

I have heard of how 'Fascinated' (for lack of a better term) Indian Men can be in the presence of Western Women.

It is Deplorable, but a Cultural Difference. So one cannot completely judge it as negative. It just is.

Going to another Country would be wise. If being unclothed in public is the aim. It is not a matter of right-and-wrong, just safety.

A point that a few earlier comments have hinted at is this: mores for behavior are very different across India. Goa has been a very relaxed live and let live area that has been exposed to western norms for a long time. However, Indians arriving from other areas may not have any such experience. Note the perpetrators home states: Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. I've spent a fair amount of time in UP, and I can attest that there are some absolutely crazy stereotypes of westerners floating out there, particularly of women. It's common to believe western women are all easy/available sexually, and I've seen people drool over an exposed arm. This doesn't only apply to western women. Among Indians, New Delhi is known as the groping capital of India. In my opinion, it's as much a feature of extremely rapid development and urbanization creating a culture clash of urban/rural, developed/traditional society as it is a deeply seated cultural problem. While my experience of India was nothing but positive, if I were a woman I would definitely have been far more cautious.

There are two issues. One is safety. Everyone is responsible for safety. The law is supposed to help ensure public safety.

Rape is a horrible crime, the perpetrators should be brought to trial and if found guilty, punished to the appropriate extent of the law. The rule of law is the best antidote to crime.

The other is the issue the ministry of tourism must face. They are inviting westerners to vacation in Goa. They have to set the policies that ensure public safety. If that means a local dress code, then that is what it means. They have every right to do that.

I think visitors have to take into account the local culture. When I was in India and walked on the beaches of Kerala and other places, I walked with a friend. We did not dress suggestively. There were groups of Indian schoolgirls going into the ocean. They were all fully clothed and well supervised. That made a clear message about what the society expected.

Westerners have this kind of "free-for-all" fantasy about exotic vacation spots, and the tourism industry feeds off it by endlessly reprinting posters of scantily-clad models.

In a deeply traditional culture this is going to create a lot of problems. You could create segregated beaches, one for westerners, one for locals, and have a stepped up security presence in some areas.

You don't just fling open the doors and let people come in and do whatever they want. But that is precisely the reputation Goa has.

So now they will pay a price. Goa will become known as the place to get raped and murdered, and the very people who were sending out bikini-model posters all over the world are, in my opinion, the ones on whom the responsibility falls for fixing that problem.

If the government thinks you should not be wearing a bikini, then they have to make that clear to the tourists. There are plenty of beaches where they can go. Hell, there are nude beaches all over Europe and other western countries if that's what they want. But trying to impose those standards onto a traditional Indian community is going to create these kinds of problems.

That being said, again, I want to state my position on the crime: the rapists are guilty and should be punished to the full extent of the law. I am not re-assigning the guilt off the rapists. THE RAPISTS ARE GUILTY AND SHOULD BE PUNISHED (caps are for those of who read only what they want to read).

But why did they come to Goa to find a victim? Because Goa is exporting images of itself as being a western fantasy vacation spot. And although the ads don't say it with text, making the prominent image of tourism ads be a bikini model definitely says it with pictures.

The government and the ministry of tourism needs to step up and be much more clear about what they expect from visitors, and what kind of place they want Goa to be. If they want a "family beach" then they would be wise to stop sending bikini shots all over the planet.

So my questionn is: if the ministry of tourism is against bikinis being worn on the beach, how come there is no policy deterring it? Whose fault is that?

The problem here is a simple one, but I fear it may be politically incorrect. The truth is that the moral code of the western nations is a complete mystery to the so called locals of places like Goa, and many other tourist hotspots around the world. They want our money but they do not want our morality. Well here is some news for them, that they will find hard to digest. The truth is that they have no morals when it comes to women. Cover them up keep them in their place and for god sake don’t let them out without at least 20 square metres of fabric covering them.
May I take this opportunity to explain to these ignorant savages that we have long since, past the point, when we regarded women as objects and chattel. These people need to understand that if a civilised person sees a member of the opposite sex in whatever clothing that person wishes to wear , it is not an invitation to commit acts of violence. And by the way no society can in anyway excuse the disgusting attack on a child in any way what so ever. These men are the product of a depraved and indifferent society that has no place in the modern world. True these things happen even in our enlightened society but when they do we condemn them and never entertain the idea of an excuse for their behaviour.
I do however have a solution to this problem. Anybody who wishes vacation in such places, should at the point of departure be informed, that whatever happens to them is on their own heads. They should be given leaflets explaining that they face being the victims of such attacks and that this is their choice. They may then decide that it would be better for them to visit more accommodating destinations.
If places like Goa want to benefit from our money they should educate their people about the difference in our morality and make sure that they show respect to those who visit. For if we don’t visit their countries, they will have to go back to living the life they had before we graced them with our presence and money. A life of perpetual poverty short and nasty.

This is crazy, I mean real crazy. These violent actions will jeopardize whole tourism in Goa for sure.

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