在面對性侵案件時，「不責備受害者」是大家努力推動的目標。而「女性衣著和性侵無關」，似乎也已成了政治正確的說法。
但是，若單從科學證據的角度來看，過去的研究中到底有沒有發現「女性衣著和性侵被害」之間的相關性呢？（在熟人性侵與權力性侵案例中，衣著可能關係不大，但是在陌生人隨機性侵案例中，衣著也仍然沒有影響嗎？）
稍微搜索文獻之後，發現證據確實很少，但並不是沒有，比方說這一篇研究就發現，女性受到性侵害的其中一個相關因子就是「衣著」：
Synovitz LB, Byrne TJ. (1998) Antecedents of sexual victimization: factors discriminating victims from nonvictims. J Am Coll Health. 46(4):151-8.
原文引用： "The variables found to be related to women's being sexually victimized were (a) number of different lifetime sexual partners, (b) provocative dress, and (c) alcohol use."
還有以下這一篇更是讓人跌破眼鏡，研究竟然發現男性可以透過女性的一些動作與外表，來判斷女性的「被動」或「服從」程度，而「穿著」就是可以用來判斷「被動」或「服從」程度的一個關鍵：有較高的「被動」和「服從」傾向的女性，通常會穿得比較保守。
因此有學者推論，歹徒如果看穿這一點，反而會使得這些穿著保守的女性成為下手目標。相反的，穿著暴露性感的女性，則會被視為「不順從」而成為反指標，反而較不易成為性侵目標。
Theresa M. Beiner, Sexy Dressing Revisited: Does Target Dress Play A Part in Sexual Harassment Cases?, 14 Duke J. Gender L. & Pol'y 125 (2007).
PDF: https://scholarship.law.duke.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1109&context=djglp
原文引用："While people perceive dress to have an impact on who is assaulted, studies of rapists suggest that victim attire is not a significant factor. Instead, rapists look for signs of passiveness and submissiveness, which, studies suggest, are more likely to coincide with more body-concealing clothing.(140) In a study to test whether males could determine whether women were high or low in passiveness and submissiveness, Richards and her colleagues found that men, using only nonverbal appearance cues, could accurately assess which women were passive and submissive versus those who were dominant and assertive.(141) Clothing was one of the key cues: “Those females high in passivity and submissiveness (i.e., those at greatest risk for victimization) wore noticeably more body-concealing clothing (i.e., high necklines, long pants and sleeves, multiple layers).” This suggests that men equate body-concealing clothing with passive and submissive qualities, which are qualities that rapists look for in victims. Thus, those who wore provocative clothes would not be viewed as passive or submissive, and would be less likely to be victims of assault."
References:
140. Chen Shen, Study: From Attribution and Thought-Process Theory to Rape-Shield Laws: The Meanings of Victim’s Appearance in Rape Trials, 5 J. L. & FAM. STUD. 435, 447 (2003); Alinor C. Sterling, Undressing the Victim: The Intersection of Evidentiary and Semiotic Meanings of Women’s Clothing in Rape Trials, 7 YALE J.L. & FEMINISM 87, 104–06 (1995); DUNCAN KENNEDY, SEXY DRESSING ETC. (1993); Gary D. Lafree, Barbara F. Reskin & Christy A. Visher, Jurors’ Responses to Victims’ Behavior and Legal Issues in Sexual Assault Trials, 32 SOC.PROBS. 389, 401 (1985) (study of jurors in rape trials noting that victim history often finds its way into rape trials in spite of rape shield laws).
141. Lynne Richards, A Theoretical Analysis of Nonverbal Communication and Victim Selection for Sexual Assaults, 9 CLOTHING & TEXTILES RES. J. 55, 59–60 (Summer 1991) (discussing Lynne Richards et al., Perceptions of Submissiveness: Implications for Victimization, 125 J.PSYCH. 407 (1991)).
臆測：
(1) 雖然統計上很少發現「女性衣著和性侵被害」兩者的顯著相關，但是這似乎有可能是因為臨時起意的性侵案件占全部性侵案件的比例太小，導致樣本被稀釋而無法檢視「女性衣著和性侵被害」兩者的相關性？
(2) 如果男性可以從女性穿著推測出女性的個性，那性感衣著反而會成為反指標，使得穿著保守的女性更容易變成目標，如此一來，「女性性感衣著和性侵被害機率」兩者當然不會有正相關。
結論：兩者關係仍待驗證，切勿過早論斷。
nonverbal communication 在 11.1 Principles of Nonverbal Communication 的推薦與評價
We communicate nonverbally more than we engage in verbal communication, and often use nonverbal expressions to add to, or even replace, words we might otherwise ... ... <看更多>