I’m glad you made clarification on the victim blaming issue. I will say there have been encounters in which there’s no way I could have predicted or proved a man’s past. But in cases in which women go into something fully knowing this person’s heinous acts?? That I will never understand. Like you said, I feel like a lot of it has to do with doubt and desperation. When we operate on a mentality of 'this is good as it will get’, we fool ourselves into thinking those things won’t happen to us or someone we love. We disregard red flags and make excuses. It’s truly upsetting to see. Definitely brings up a lot of good questions.

I think another factor could be a external pressure to be “accepting” of a person and to “not set standards so high”. But I think people hear that and take it to the extreme.