Durex Thailand was forced to apologize last night for a reckless comment that many complained trivialized – or even encouraged – rape.
After posting an “infographic” with what appears to be an invented “statistic” about women giving in to sexual violence, a chorus of dissent led the condom manufacturer to apologize.
“28% of women who say no give in at the end,” the graphic read.
The message was made worse by its tacky caption.
“So this would be called a ‘courtesy rape’ right? Comment! #Durex #DurexThailand #Lovesex,” it read.
With a national soul-searching underway following a long series of gruesome rapes, from a 13-year-old viciously thrown off a train to a teen girl pregnant after four years of rape by men in her family, many were outraged by the famous condom brand’s decision to make a “cheeky” comment about rape.
“So the remaining 72 percent would be called rape, and how many of those would go to the police?” one user commented
“For the remaining 72 percent, if they’re not killed, they’re definitely going to the police,” another user added.
Durex Thailand later apologized, claiming the artwork contained poor word choice.
They shifted blame to the public by characterizing it as a “misunderstanding” of their intent.
“Regarding the widely misunderstanding from the message we previously posted, Durex Thailand sincerely apologizes,” Durex Thailand said. “We ask you the permission to delete the artwork in question to prevent further misunderstanding. We will be more careful with the presentation and word choice. Apologies.”
Beside the controversial post, the page is also a great source of other sexual chauvinism:
“20 percent of women know it’s not true when their boyfriend invites them to his place and promises not to do anything. And they go up to his room anyway!”
“75 percent of men who ask a girl out on a beach trip, they hope for something more than going to the beach.”
“30 percent of women like to swallow.”
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