Marriott Blames Rape Victim

Posted on | August 17, 2009 |

By Holly Buchanan

I don’t know if all the facts are out yet, but it doesn’t look good for Marriott.

A woman was raped at gunpoint in the parking lot of the Marriott Hotel in Stamford, CT.   The woman filed a lawsuit claiming the hotel failed to prevent the 2006 attack.   It was the lawyers handling of the lawsuit that is causing the uproar.

Here was the hotel’s response as reported by The Huffington Post:

A Connecticut hotel where a woman was raped at gunpoint in front of her children says the victim was careless and negligent.

The papers filed last month in Superior Court by the Stamford Marriott Hotel & Spa say the victim “failed to exercise due care for her own safety and the safety of her children and proper use of her senses and facilities.”

Wow.  Blaming the victim in any rape case is horrifying.  But for a major corporation to do it?

I just have to ask - did anyone raise their hand when this legal strategy was planned to say, “Hey, this might not be a good PR move?”  

When I emailed Marriott about the incident, I got the same canned response everyone else did:

“We wish to convey our respect and sympathy for Ms. Doe and her family, who were the victims of a horrendous crime in 2006,” the statement said.

It continued: “Marriott is profoundly sorry that such a terrible thing happened to the victim of this violent crime. And unfortunately this situation has created a mistaken impression that Marriott lacks respect and concern for Ms. Doe or other victims of violent crime.

“However, out of respect for the privacy of the victim and the expectations of the Court in the pending litigation, we are not at liberty to comment on the claims or defenses in this case.”

Whatever money Marriott may have been trying to save in the lawsuit could pale in comparison to the backlash to their “blame the rape victim” strategy.  

Consider this Marriott:

1. Almost half the business travelers in the U.S. are women
2. Women plan the majority of family vacations
3. Women look very closely at a company’s values when making purchasing decisions

And even if Marriott doesn’t care about losing female customers - some of the most outraged reactions I’ve seen have come from men.

Several boycotts have already begun.

Marriott has permanently lost my business.

Comments