公正世界理论（Just-world Theory/Hypothesis）是在社会学和心理学中一个臭名昭著的理论。在这种假说里，人们生活在一个公正的世界里，得到的都是他们理应得到的。不幸的人所遇到的不幸都是“咎由自取”，而幸运的人则收获着他们的奖励。
采用恶毒的言论指责受害人，比如流浪汉流落街头，会被指责为懒惰，不够努力。我们也会听到有关受害人不洁身自好的言论，某个留学生出了事就会说他炫富，非得去国外，吃火锅或者参加娱乐集会的时候发生暴力事件，会有人指责享受娱乐的这些人，为什么如此恶毒的事情会如此普遍呢？这背后有个心理学的解释，经典的认知偏误，公正世界理论，潜意识里相信这个理论的人认为，好人有好报，坏人会受到惩罚，因此如果受害人是个洁身自好的人，却遭受了伤害，我将违背了这个原则，违背这个原则之后，人们将陷入自我怀疑，并将由此感受到强大的不安全感，由此大脑就必须找个理由调节认知去消除带来的恐慌，就会不自觉地去扭曲被害者的形象来保护自己的价值观，于是一个巴掌拍不响，苍蝇不叮无缝的蛋，这些看似公正实则荒谬绝伦的理论就出现。
我们其实忽略了很多意外，是无法设防的。
世界也许刻薄，人性可以温柔。
为了更好地理解这个理论，下面走进今天《纽约时报》的这篇新闻吧，来看看这一事件在爱尔兰掀起的轩然大波。
Defense lawyer suggests a thong equals consent—and Ireland erupts
A criminal trial in Ireland, in which the lawyer of a man accused of rape cited the lacy underwear worn by a woman as a sign of her consent, has ignited outrage across the country and beyond.
During the closing argument, the defense lawyer asked the jury to consider the underwear worn by the 17-year-old woman at the time prosecutors said she was raped in a muddy alleyway by a 27-year-old man.
“Does the evidence out-rule the possibility that she was attracted to the defendant and was open to meeting someone and being with someone?” the lawyer asked, according to The Irish Times. “You have to look at the way she was dressed. She was wearing a thong with a lace front.”
The man was acquitted, and the case immediately drew calls for accountability and sparked a national dialogue about consent and victim blaming. Hundreds of women and men with posters and lace underwear in hand protested in five cities across the country on Wednesday.
“My issue isn’t just the barrister; it’s the system that allows it, ” said Mary Crilly, director of the Cork Sexual Violence Center and one of the speakers at the protests.
Women also poured out their frustration on social media, where they posted photos of colorful underwear with the hashtag #ThisIsNotConsent.
For decades, Ireland was a socially conservative society ruled by the norms of the Roman Catholic Church, and women’s rights often took a back seat. In recent years, socially liberal policies have begun to flourish. But as women’s status in society changes, the laws have not always kept pace.
