A Colombian restaurant owner has incurred the wrath of women's rights groups after suggesting a 20-year-old allegedly raped in his parking lot may have invited the assault by wearing a miniskirt.
Andres Jaramillo, owner of Andres Carne de Res, appeared to openly question whether or not the attack occurred because of the woman's attire in a radio interview on Tuesday, the Associated Press reported.
"This kid shows up with a coat worn over a miniskirt. What kind of game is she playing? And then she says she was raped - to atone for her sins!," he is said to have told local media.
Protesters in Bogota chant 'miniskirts are not an invitation' on Sunday
Jaramillo has since apologised for his remarks, but the incident has sparked fury with dozens of women - and men - taking to the streets in miniskirts on Sunday to protest against sexual violence.
A group gathered outside Jaramillo's club crying out "Miniskirts are not an invitation!" and "When we say no, it's no!", AFP reported.
Earlier in the week women's rights groups took to social media to vent their fury.
Supporters were asked to post pictures of themselves under the hashtag "#Yomepongounaminifaldayque" - "I wear a miniskirt - so what?", the BBC revealed.
Sexual violence against women is common in Colombia, with Oxfam citing it as one of the main causes of displacement in the country.
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It adds conflict-related sexual violence has been "employed as a weapon of war by all of the armed groups - state military forces, paramilitaries and guerrillas - both against civilian women and their own female combatants.
The AFP cites figures from the High Council for Gender Equality which estimates that there were 44 sexual assaults for every 100,000 inhabitants in 2010.
