A woman shared a photo of her dog to teach the world a lesson about sexual assault.

Victim blaming. Too often, it’s the without-thinking, stock-standard response when a woman is raped or sexually assaulted. Whether its through news headlines or dinner table conversations, the conversation can so easily turn to:

What was she wearing?

How was she acting?

Were they seeing each other? Had they kissed?

All questions are designed to plant doubt about the ‘innocence’ of the rape victim. To somehow excuse the perpetrator for taking advantage and for not stopping when he was told ‘no’.

Now one woman in Atlanta has explained the error of victim blaming in one, sweet analogy.

Bree Wiseman posted a picture of her dog, sitting next to a plate of food, to Facebook.

In the caption, she explains that her dog understands the word ‘no’, and asks the question: why can’t everyone else?

“To the people that say women get raped due to the way they are dressed. This is my dog. His favorite food is steak. He is eye level with my plate,” her Facebook post reads.

“He won’t get any closer because I told him ‘no’. If a dog is better behaved than you are, you need to reevaluate your life. Feel free to share, my dog is adorable.”

The post has been shared almost 300,000 times. It’s attracted 166,000 reactions and more than 4,000 comments – some people debating the message, others agreeing and sharing their experiences.

How clever. But how heartbreaking, that it takes an image of an adorable dog to help the world understand one simple truth: victim blaming is never the answer.

If you need help, you are urged to call the national domestic violence and sexual assault helpline 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732). 

LISTEN: How Luke Lazarus was acquitted of rape.