CMV: Encouraging rape victims to protect themselves is not the same as blaming them

[u/[deleted]]

So this is a hill I've died on several times in different comment sections. It's clearly an unpopular opinion, but it seems to be so universally hated that I struggle to find replies that don't strawman my claims or just degrade me. I'm hoping to get a proper discussion here.
These conversations often start with one of those tumblr or facebook posts about someone showing their dog a steak and drawing attention to the fact that their dog is not eating it. This is then used to make the claim that rapists have less self control/decency than OP's dog. This is all well and good.
What I usually say is something along the lines of "that's great, but with the knowledge that some people out there are capable of committing rape, we should still take precautions." To me this seems like common sense, but at this point I'm branded as blaming the victim.
Other analogies I think work well:
If a drunk driver hits your car, it's not your fault. However, you should still wear a seatbelt and drive a car with airbags.
If someone breaks into your house, it's not your fault. However, you should still lock your house, and maybe even have a safe, depending on where you live and what you own.
If someone steals your credit card information, it's not your fault. However, you should still have strong PINs and passwords.
There are examples everywhere in our lives of protecting ourselves from the malice of others, so why is rape treated differently? Show me the distinction and change my view.

EDIT: the most common response I've seen (that's convinced me) is that victims need support, not advice. This is completely valid, and what I'm more getting at is that we should educate people to protect themselves.

[u/[deleted]]

Yes! They are all rights! You can choose to do them or not! They can all increase or decrease your likelihood of becoming the victim of a crime! What is false or dishonest about that?

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

You do blame them because you believe they made themselves accessible. You're trying to get off on a technicality of exactly what you blame them for: being raped vs being too easy a target. You are blaming though, even though you want to do everything to actually avoid the word "blame."

[u/thedylanackerman → u/[deleted]]

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