Difference between revisions of "Rape" - New World Encyclopedia

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'''Rape''' is a form of [[assault]] involving the non-consensual use of the sexual organs of another person's body.  The assailant can be of either sex, as can their target.
 
'''Rape''' is a form of [[assault]] involving the non-consensual use of the sexual organs of another person's body.  The assailant can be of either sex, as can their target.

Revision as of 16:34, 29 May 2007


Rape is a form of assault involving the non-consensual use of the sexual organs of another person's body. The assailant can be of either sex, as can their target.

Rape is generally considered one of the most serious sex crimes and can be very difficult to prosecute. Sexual violence can also be a war crime under international law. Consent may be absent due to duress arising from the use, or threat, of overwhelming force or violence, or because the subject is incapacitated in some way such as intoxication and/or underage innocence. In some cases coercion might also be used to negate consent.

There is no universally accepted distinction between rape and other forms of assault involving one or both participant's sexual organs. Some criminal codes explicitly consider all kinds of forced sexual activity to be rape, whereas in others only acts involving a coupled penis and vagina are included. Some restrict rape only to instances where a woman is forced by a man. Other assaults involving sexual organs in some way may then be grouped under the term sexual assault. In some jurisdictions rape may also be committed by assailants using objects, rather than their own body parts, against the sexual organs of their target.

Men who rape women are often seen as the most common type of rapist but, in fact, men who rape other men (in prison) are probably the most common type of male rapist in the US today due to the drastic decline in the rape of women by men (Kipnis, Laura (2006), The Female Thing: Dirt, Sex, Envy, Vulnerability). In recent years, there have been an increasing number of female assailants being convicted for the rape of men. However, due to social, and political, and legal double standards, female rapists who rape other women are almost never caught or convicted[8]. Due to incorrect social steoreotypes and reverse-sexist double standards, research on female rapists is rare to the detriment of their victims both female and male [9].

History of rape

The Rape of the Sabine Women, a 1582 sculpture by Giambologna.

The word rape originates from the Latin verb rapere: to seize or take by force. The word originally had no sexual connotation and is still used generically in English (see rape (word)). The history of rape, and the alterations of its meaning, is quite complex. The Latin term for the act of rape itself is raptus.

Many developments in law took place during the twentieth century. These included landmark decisions by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda that defined rape as an institutionalized weapon of war and a crime of genocide. The first female judge of the tribunal Navanethem Pillay played a key part in those decisions. Similarly, many other changes occurred through the development of the feminist movement and perceptions of women's rights.

"Rape of Europa" by Guido Reni

The concept of rape, both as an abduction and in the sexual sense (not always distinguishable), makes its first appearance in early religious texts.

In Greek mythology, for example, the rape of women, as exemplified by the rape of Europa, and male rape, found in the myth of Laius and Chrysippus, were mentioned. Different values were ascribed to the two actions. The rape of Europa by Zeus is represented as an abduction followed by consensual lovemaking, similar perhaps to the rape of Ganymede by Zeus, and went unpunished. The rape of Chrysippus by Laius, however, is represented in darker terms, and was known in antiquity as "the crime of Laius," a term which came to be applied to all male rape. It was seen as an example of hubris in the original sense of the word, i.e. violent outrage, and its punishment was so severe that it destroyed not only Laius himself, but also his son, Oedipus.

In most cultures, rape was seen less as a crime against a particular girl or woman than against the head of the household or against chastity. As a consequence, the rape of a virgin was often a more serious crime than of a non-virgin, even a wife or widow, and the rape of a prostitute or other unchaste woman was, in some laws, not a crime because her chastity could not be harmed. Furthermore, the woman's consent was under many legal systems not a defense. In seventeenth-century France, even marriage without parental consent was classified as rapt.[1]

The penalty for rape was often a fine, payable to the father or the husband whose "goods" were "damaged".[citation needed] That position was later replaced in many cultures by the view that the woman, as well as her lord, should share the fine equally.[citation needed]

In some laws the woman might marry the rapist instead of his receiving the legal penalty. This was especially prevalent in laws where the crime of rape did not include, as a necessary part, that it be against the woman's will, thus dividing the crime in the current meaning of rape, and a means for a couple to force their families to permit marriage.

Tarquinius Sextus and Lucretia by Titian

In pagan Rome, it was expected that an honorable woman, being raped, would like Lucretia remove the stain on her honor by committing suicide. The failure of Christian women, having been raped in the sack of Rome, to kill themselves was commented on by pagans with shock and horror; St. Augustine dedicated an entire book of The City of God to defending these women's honor and chastity. Early Christianity also maintained, as paganism did not, that slave women were entitled to chastity, and that therefore a slave woman could be raped, and honored as martyrs slave women who resisted their masters.

In Roman law, the crime of rape was not defined by the lack of consent of the woman, but by her removal from her family; the change was described by William Blackstone in his Commentaries on the Laws of England:

The civil law [of Rome] punishes the crime of ravishment with death and confiscation of goods: under which it includes both the offence of forcible abduction, or taking away a woman from her friends, of which we last spoke; and also the present offence of forcibly dishonoring them; either of which, without the other, is in that law, sufficient to constitute a capital crime. Also the stealing away a woman from her parents or guardians, and debauching her, is equally penal by the emperor's edict, whether she consent or is forced: “five volentibus, five nolentibus mulieribus, tale facinus fuerit perpetratum.” And this, in order to take away from women every opportunity of offending in this way; whom the Roman laws suppose never to go astray, without the seduction and arts of the other sex: and therefore, by restraining and making so highly penal the solicitations of the men, they meant to secure effectually the honor of the women...

But our English law does not entertain quite such sublime ideas of the honor of either sex, as to lay the blame of a mutual fault upon one of the transgressors only: and therefore makes it a necessary ingredient in the crime of rape, that it must be against the woman's will.

Rape, in the course of warfare, also dates back to antiquity, ancient enough to have been mentioned in the Bible. The Greek, Persian and Roman troops would routinely rape women and boys in the conquered towns. Rape, as an adjunct to warfare, was prohibited by the military codices of Richard II and Henry V (1385 and 1419 respectively). These laws formed the basis for convicting and executing rapists during the Hundred Years' War (1337-1453).

Since the 1970s many changes have occurred in the perception of sexual assault due in large part to the feminist movement and its public characterization of rape as a crime of power and control rather than purely of sex. In some countries the women's liberation movement of the 1970s created the first rape crisis centers. This movement was led by the National Organization for Women (NOW) ([10]). One of the first two rape crisis centers, the D.C. Rape Crisis Center ([11]), opened in 1972. It was created to promote sensitivity and understanding of rape and its effects on the victim.

Marital rape first became a crime in the United States in the state of South Dakota in 1975. Marital rape is not a crime at common law.[2] In the 1980s, date or acquaintance rape first gained acknowledgment. On July 5, 1993, marital rape became a crime in all 50 states, under at least one section of the sexual offense codes. An important part of the history of rape is the foundation of RAINN, which runs the national sexual assault hotline and is the leading organizer of rape crisis awareness as well as a research resource for the media. This is a national organization rather than regional and is regarded as an authority for statistics and other research. Rape crisis centers were created to serve survivors of all forms of sexual violence during any phase of their healing process. Rape crisis centers and other community based service providers continue to grow and serve their communities by providing direct services and prevention programming.

On September 2, 1998 the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda delivered a precedent-setting verdict that made sexual violence a war crime.[3] This was followed in November 1998 by the decision of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia that acts of rape may constitute torture under international humanitarian law.[4]

Current topics being debated are the peripheralized victims of rape — male rape victims of both male and female rapists, female-female rape and parental-rape incest victims, LGBT domestic violence and rape victims, marital rape victims and child sexual abuse victims. Other emerging issues are the concept of victim blame and its causes, male rape survivors, male-male rape, female sexual aggression, new theories of rape and gender, date rape drugs and their effects as well as the psychological effects of rape trauma syndrome.


Definitions of rape

In most jurisdictions the crime of rape is defined to occur when sexual intercourse takes place (or is attempted) without valid consent of one of the parties involved. It is frequently defined as penetration of the anus or the vagina by a penis. In some jurisdictions the penetration need not be by penis but can be by other body parts (e.g. one or more fingers, i.e. digital penetration) or by objects (e.g. a bottle), or may involve the forcing of a vagina or anus onto a penis by a female assailant.

Other jurisdictions expand the definition of rape to include other acts committed using the sexual organs of one or both of the parties, such as oral copulation and masturbation, for example, again enacted without valid consent.

The lack of valid consent does not necessarily mean that the victim explicitly refused to give consent. Generally, consent is considered invalid if it is obtained from someone who is:

  • Under any kind of duress (force, violence, blackmail, etc.)
  • Judgementally impaired or incapacitated by alcohol or drugs (legal or otherwise)
  • Mentally impaired whether by illness or developmental disability
  • Below the age of consent defined in that jurisdiction

In Pakistan, under the Hudood Ordinance in force from 1979 to 2006, the definition of rape required a woman to have supporting evidence from four male eye-witnesses. The sexual act was otherwise considered adultery.

Statutory rape refers to a sexual act that is considered rape by the law regardless of whether it was coercive or consensual. Such laws are common and exist in order to prevent adults from having sex with minors who are deemed legally unable to give effective informed consent.

Sexual activity involving a person below the age of consent is often known as statutory rape although some jurisdictions prefer terms such as "unlawful sexual intercourse" to avoid the forcible connotation of the word.

The Brazilian Penal Code defines rape as unconsensual vaginal sex. Therefore, unlike most of Europe and the Americas, male rape, anal rape, and oral rape are not considered to be rape crimes. Instead, such an act is a "violent attempt against someone's modesty" ("Atentado violento ao pudor"). The penalty, however, is the same.

The definition used by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in its landmark 1998 judgement was ""a physical invasion of a sexual nature committed on a person under circumstances which are coercive." [5] ary 2007}}


Types of rape

There are several types of rape, generally categorized by reference to the situation in which it occurs, the sex or characteristics of the victim, and/or the sex or chacteristics of the perpetrator. It is important to note that almost all rape research and reporting to date has been limited to male-female forms of rape. Research on male-male and female-male is beginning to be done. However, almost no research has been done on female-female rape. Such widespread research biases and social double standards can and do cause systemic biases in how rape is reported and acknowledged. Therefore, this section is far from a complete summary of how rape is perpetrated in all it's forms. Sometimes animals are accused of rape, yet sometimes it is unclear who was doing the raping in these situations.[6] Women can be charged with rape, it is usually in underage male situations,[12], however it can be rape of an adult on some few occasions.[13]

Effect of rape

After being raped it is common for the victim to experience intense, and sometimes unpredictable, emotions, and they may find it hard to deal with their memories of the event. Victims can be severely traumatized by the assault and may have difficulty functioning as well as they had been used to prior to the assault, with disruption of concentration, sleeping patterns and eating habits, for example. They may feel jumpy or be on edge. In the month(s) immediately following the assault these problems may be severe and very upsetting and may prevent the victim from revealing their ordeal to friends or family, or seeking police or medical assistance. This may result in Acute Stress Disorder. Symptoms of this are:

  • feeling numb and detached, like being in a daze or a dream, or feeling that the world is strange and unreal
  • difficulty remembering important parts of the assault
  • reliving the assault through repeated thoughts, memories, or nightmares
  • avoidance of things -places, thoughts, feelings- that remind the victim of the assault
  • anxiety or increased arousal (difficulty sleeping, concentrating, etc.)
  • avoidance of social life or place of rape


In 1972, Ann Wolbert Burgess and Lynda Lytle Holstrom embarked on a study of the psychological effects of rape. They interviewed and counseled rape victims at the emergency room of Boston City Hospital and observed a pattern of reactions which they named Rape Trauma Syndrome.[7]. They defined this as having two components which they called the Acute and Reorganisation phases.

During the Acute Phase the survivor may experience shock and disbelief, or feel frozen, and may attempt to disconnect themselves from "the person who was raped." They may feel humiliated, confused, dirty, ashamed, or at fault for the assault, particularly if the assailant was an acquaintance. Extreme nightmares, heightened anxiety, frequent flashbacks, and a strong attempt to disconnect from one's emotions are common, as is denial - trying to convince oneself that the assault did not actually occur. If raped by an acquaintance the victim may try to protect the perpetrator.

Victims may respond to the rape in either an expressive or a controlled way. The expressive way involves obvious outward effects and emotions such as crying, shaking, rage, tenseness, ironic and uncomfortable laughter (part of their denial), and restlessness. The controlled way occurs when the victim appears to be quite calm and rational about the situation, even if facing severe internal turmoil. There is no single response to rape; every individual deals with their intensely traumatic emotions differently.

After the acute phase, the Reorganization Phase begins and the survivor attempts to recreate the world that they once knew. This stage may last for months or even years following the assault and despite their best efforts this phase is often riddled with feelings of guilt, shame, fear, and anxiety. Emotions such as anger, anxiety, denial, and loss (of security) surface. Development of an inability to trust is a frequently consequence of sexual assault. This loss of the fundamental need for security can wreak havoc on the survivor’s life, causing them to feel powerless and not in control of their body. They may feel unsafe, which can cause a heightened state of anxiety as well as difficulty with intimate relationships. Victims may attempt to return to normal social interaction (i.e. go out to social engagements) and find themselves unable to do so and their attempts to re-establish themselves in relationships may be hindered by a lack of trust.

Survivors often isolate themselves from their support network either physically or emotionally. The survivor may feel disconnected from peers as a result of the perceived personal experience. The shattering of trust can adversely affect intimate relationships, as survivors may have a heightened suspicion of others' motives and feelings.

Another area of research referred to as "second victimization," has to do with the caustic and interrogatory way the police and medical staff sometimes treat people who allege rape or sexual assault.

Sexual assault can affect an individual forever, changing them into someone living in a constant state of turmoil. In extreme cases the outcome may be suicide.[14]

Sociobiological analysis of rape

Some argue that rape, as a reproductive strategy, is encountered in many instances in the animal kingdom (ie: ducks, geese, and certain dolphin species).[8].[9] It is difficult to determine what constitutes rape among animals, as the lack of informed consent defines rape amongst humans. See also Non-human animal sexuality.

Some sociobiologists argue that our ability to understand rape, and thereby prevent it, is severely compromised because its basis in human evolution has been ignored.[10] Some studies indicate that it is an evolutionary strategy for certain males who lack the ability to persuade the female by non-violent means to pass on their genes.[11]

American social critic, intellectual, author and teacher Camille Paglia and some sociobiologists have argued that the victim-blaming intuition may have a non-psychological component in some cases, because a few sociobiological models suggest that it may be genetically-ingrained for certain men and women to allow themselves to be more vulnerable to rape, and that this may be a biological feature of members of the species.[12]

Loss of control and privacy

Rape has been regarded as "a crime of violence and control" since the 1970s. Psychological analysis literature identifies control as a key component in most definitions of privacy:

  • "Privacy is not the absence of other people from one's presence, but the control over the contact one has with them." (Pedersen, D. 1997).
  • "Selective control of access to the self." (Margulis, 2003)

Control is important in providing:

  • what we need for normal psychological functioning;
  • stable interpersonal relationships; and
  • personal development. (Pedersen, D. 1997)

Violation of privacy or "control" comes in many forms, with sexual assault and the resulting psychological traumas being one of the most explicit forms. Many victims of sexual assault suffer from eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia, which also center around control issues. Therefore, some argue that it makes more sense to look at the issue of sexual assault as an invasion of privacy (Mclean, D. 1995):

The more comfortable a person is with talking about invasion of privacy and in insisting that he or she has privacy that deserves respect, the clearer that person’s understanding of rape will be…

Approaching rape through the concept of privacy helps bypass certain social stigmas.

Challenges to conventional assumptions

Many reports suggest that rape statistics are not reliable because some kinds of rape are excluded from official reports altogether, (The FBI's definition for example excludes all rapes except forcible rapes of adult females by males), because a significant number of rapes go unreported even when they are included as reportable rapes, and also because a significant number of rapes reported to the police cannot be verified and possibly did not occur.[13]

In addition, rape by women is a barely understood phenomenon that is widely denied in most societies and one that usually causes surprise, shock, or utter revulsion.[14]

In the United States, the adjusted per-capita victimization rate of rape has declined from about 2.4 per 1000 people (age 12 and above) in 1980 to about 0.4 per 1000 people, a decline of about 85%. [15]

College campus rape

Some studies indicate a particular problem with rape on college campuses. The subject attracts attention because of the presence of many young men and women, often experiencing their first years away from home together, in an environment where prior controls, supervision and discipline are to a great extent removed, and where youths are in a position to engage in adult behavior with some anticipating new activities and freedoms, whilst others are left more vulnerable and less supervised.

In the United States, students are allegedly most vulnerable to rape during the first few weeks of the freshman and sophomore years. According to the U.S. Justice Department, 3.8% of college women and 1.7% of men were victims of completed rape within a six month period, and in 90% of the cases the attacker was known to the victim. In a typical college career, one-fifth to one-fourth were victims of attempted or completed rape. According to one 1992 study, one out of twelve college aged men and one in every twenty college aged women committed rape, making each responsible for an average of three rapes. [16] [15]

The Department of Justice study also found that in "about half of the incidents categorized as completed rapes, the women or man did not consider the incident to be a rape." [16] According to the Journal of Counseling and Development, women aged 16–24 are at the highest risk of sexual assault. One study has concluded that as many as one in four college aged females has been a victim of either rape or attempted rape. [17]

Rapists

A Rapist is someone who involves other people in sexual activity against their will. The legal definition of rape commonly requires non-consensual coupling of penis and vagina to occur, although just about anything that can be done with or against genitalia may appear in legal codes somewhere on the planet, so someone who is defined to be a rapist in one jurisdiction may not be in another.

The rapist can be of either sex and of any sexual orientation. Their assault(s) can confirm or contradict their own preferences for sexual activity (e.g. a self-identified heterosexual man could attack either a woman (confirmation) or a another man (contradiction) or a self-identified homosexual woman could rape either another woman (confirmation), or a man (contradiction.)).

Rape is a crime in most countries so rapists usually choose to conceal their activities from public authorities, their families and friends, unless they too are complicit in the assault.

Rapists appear in all walks of life, and can be of any age or social status; these considerations may influence their choice of targets.

Rapists may commonly be held to be wild-eyed strangers lurking down dark alleyways concealing weapons alongside their evil intent. In fact they are likely to be known in some way to the target of their assault, typically as family members, friends, neighbours, employers or colleagues. Despite pervasive social, political and legal conceptions that males commit the majority of rape, research is beginning to show that female rapists are much more prevalent than they were thought to be when rape research was limited exclusively to male rapists.[17]

Why do people rape?

The belief that some people do not matter, have no rights, or cannot effect an outcome to their own advantage are strong incentives to other people to abuse them in a variety of ways, including sexually.

Someone who grows up in a family and social environment in which other people have no value may fail to develop any empathetic structures in their life and view the abuse of others' bodies as normal. Exposure to pornography is held to have this effect by some.

An unresolved childhood incident may fester into a profound hatred of one sex, typically the opposite to the later-to-become rapist, and this hatred may manifest itself in violent assault in adulthood.

The opportunity to rape may co-exist alongside the near certainity of getting away with it. This could easily apply within a family where even if a child complains they are likely to be disbelieved, particularly if their abuser is an adult of good standing within their community.

The belief that some people (usually women) do not have the right to occupy public spaces may prompt some men to commit assaults intended to punish the perceived trespass: the target will have "asked" for the assault they get.

In mens' prisons assaulting others may seem the only way to prevent oneself being so-treated or a way to acquire status in a limited environment.

Sex with junior colleagues may be seen as a prerogative of office. The junior may feel unable to respond for fear of the sack.

How rapes are committed

If someone intends to rape they can either attack at random or chose a target from among people known to them in some way. In both cases the attack can be either a carefully planned operation, or a moment of casual violence.

In a casual assault on a random target the rapist attacks where an opportunity to do so presents: for example, a lone pedestrian in an isolated alleyway that the rapist happens to be innocently using at the same time.

In a planned attack on a random target the rapist will have been patrolling the above mentioned alleyway (e.g.) for some time in the hope of finding sport there. A casual attack on a chosen target is the inverse of this: the rapist has been "patrolling" people known to them in some way and attacks at a moment when one of them is isolated and vulnerable.

An attack on someone known to the rapist can also be the result of a plan that has been refined over a period of time to trap just that person. This type of behaviour can be what is commonly referred to as "grooming" - where the rapist builds up the trust of an acquaintance only to exploit it. This type of assault causes moral panics over childrens' use of internet chat rooms in which ne'er-do-wells are able to achieve considerable influence over immature respondents.

Male rapist profiles

Dr. A. Nicholas Groth, author of Men Who Rape: The Psychology of the Offender, described four types of deliberate rapists, based on their motivations and behavior patterns. Forensic scientists, criminologists, and law enforcement agencies often use these profiles to analyze rapists, in the hope of preventing future rapes.

  • The power-assertive rapist: This is argued to be the most common type of rapist, accounting for about 40 percent of all reported rapes. Wishing to be an alpha male, he tends to value machismo and physical aggression, and often rapes victims that he meets in public spaces, where he may pose as, or be, an authority figure. Power-assertive rapists rarely target specific people for rape and, while not intending to kill their victims, often traumatize and humiliate them.
  • The power-reassurance rapist: Responsible for about 27.5% of reported rapes, this type of rapist has been described by law enforcers as the "gentleman rapist." He is usually:
    • of average intelligence;
    • not physically aggressive;
    • socially-deficient; and
    • unable to develop interpersonal or romantic relationships.
Usually, he will select and stalk a victim before committing the crime. The victim is usually someone whom he knows, eg. a neighbor or work acquaintance. Power-reassurance rapists often force the victim to emulate foreplay, and take "trophies" of the rape; they may even record the event in a personal journal. Power-reassurance rapists tend to be the least violent type of rapists, often fantasizing about consensual sexual relationships with women, rather than violent conquests.
  • Anger-retaliatory rapist: Responsible for about 28% of rapes, this type of rapist is often a substance abuser, with impulsive behavior and anger-related pathologies. He does not target specific victims, and often feels a general animosity toward the gender of his target. The anger-retaliatory rapist's attacks are usually spontaneous and brutal, and while he does not intend to kill the victim, he may beat her or him to death if she or he resists. This rapist usually has below-average intelligence, and is likely to leave more evidence than other types of rapists.
  • The anger-excitation rapist: This type of rapist, considered the most dangerous and elusive, accounts for about 4.5 percent of rapes. The anger-excitation rapist may or may not choose his victims selectively. Often sadistic, this type of rapist frequently murders his victim either to protect themselves from being identified, or for gratification beyond that given by the assault. FBI profilists lists this type as "sexually sadistic rapists."

According to John Douglas, the (legendary) FBI profiler, rapists tend to fall into four basic categories:

  • "power-reassurance rapist" (driven by feelings of inadequacy),
  • the "exploitive" rapist (impulse-driven and overtly macho),
  • the "anger" rapist (who uses sex to displace his rage),
  • the "sadistic" rapist, who gets aroused from the suffering of his victims.

Profiles of Women who rape and abuse children

Court TV's Crime Library lists 6 types of female sex offenders based on research by psychiatrist Janet Warren and psychologist Julia Hislop.

  • Facilitators - women who intentionally aid men in gaining access to children for sexual purposes.
  • Reluctant partners - women in long term relationships who go along with the sexual exploitation of a minor out of fear of being abandoned.
  • Initiating partners - women who want to sexually offend against a child and who may do it themselves or get a man or another woman to do it while they watch.
  • Seducers and lovers - women who direct their sexual interest against adolescents and develop an intense attachment.
  • Pedophiles - women who desire an exclusive and sustained sexual relationship with a child.
  • Psychotics - women who suffer from a mental illness and who have inappropriate sexual contact with children and/or adolescents as a result.

Warning signs for potential female rapists

According to Network LaRed woman on woman rape and domestic violence abusers exhibit certain behavior, including:

  • Violent, negative verbal outbursts, throws objects, violates other's privacy, steals and/or breaks objects.
  • Separating themselves from family in order to avoid jealous behavior.
  • Exhibiting behavior that is overly co-dependent in terms of money, and desires a close friend/relative to be dependent of them (or vice versa).
  • Not allowing a close friend/relative access to medications or health care.
  • Claiming alcohol or drug abuse as an excuse for violent behavior.
  • Uses guilt to force others into decisions.
  • Humiliates others intentionally.
  • Blatant disrespect of personal boundaries.
  • Controlling, manipulative behavior.

This behaviour includes, but is not limited to, mothers or care givers who abuse their children.


Media Attention

  • In January 2007, there was outcry over a controversial explicit scene in the movie Hounddog where Dakota Fanning plays a 12 year old girl who is raped.
  • A young male rapist has been attacking other males in the Houston, Texas suburb of Baytown. The last reported attack was on November 30, 2006. This is unusual in that some serial male-on-male rapes are not reported in part due to the emasculating and humiliating nature of this crime as felt by its victims.[18]
  • 2006 Duke University lacrosse team scandal
  • An ongoing problem with sexual assault in the U.S. military has resulted in a series of scandals that have received extensive media coverage.
  • Take Back the News
  • The Accused, a 1988 movie about rape.
  • A controversial storyline involving a brutal and violent rape appeared in 2005 on General Hospital.
  • In the episode "Shout" on the television show Degrassi: The Next Generation, the character Paige Michelcuck was date raped at a party.
  • In the recent films The Hills Have Eyes and The Hills Have Eyes 2, brutal rape scenes have been included with no meaning to the plot. The Hills Have Eyes 2 also showed clips of the rape scene(s) in the previews.

Notes

  1. Catherine Orenstein, Little Red Riding Hood Uncloaked p 36 ISBN 0-465-04125-6
  2. Although it was believed to be prior to 1991; the House of Lords decision in R v R [1991] 1 All ER 759 confirmed that a husband could be guilty of raping his wife under common law rules.
  3. Fourth Annual Report of ICTR to the General Assembly (1999), accessed at [1] March 23, 2007
  4. Sixth Annual Report of ICTY to the General Assembly (1999) accessed at [2] March 23, 2007
  5. Fourth Annual Report of ICTR to the General Assembly (1999), accessed at [3] March 23, 2007
  6. [4]
  7. Burgess A., & Holmstrom L. (1974). Rape Trauma Syndrome. American Journal of Psychiatry.
  8. Gowaty, P.A. & Buschhaus, N., "Functions of aggressive and forced copulations in birds: female resistance and the CODE hypothesis," American Zoologist (1997).
  9. Gowaty, P.A. & Buschhaus, N., supra.
  10. Thornhill, R., & Palmer, C.T., A Natural History of Rape: Biological Bases of Sexual Coercion (MIT Press, 2001).
  11. Thornhill, R., & Thornhill, N.W., "Human rape: an evolutionary analysis," Ethology and Sociobiology (1983).
  12. Paglia, C., Sexual Personae: Art and Decadence From Nefertiti to Emily Dickinson (Yale University Press, 1990).
  13. Dick Haws, "The Elusive Numbers on False Rape," Columbian Journalism Review (November/December 1997).[5]
  14. Myriam S. Denov, Perspectives on Female Sex Offending: A Culture of Denial (Ashgate Publishing 2004) - ISBN 0-7546-3565-1.
  15. Anthony D'Amato. Porn Up, Rape Down. Northwestern Public Law Research Paper No. 913013
  16. Congressional Caucus for Women’s Issues, 1992
  17. Warshaw, R. (1994). I never called it rape. New York, NY: HarperPerennial.[6]
  18. Porretto, J., "Rapist targets young men in Texas," Prescott Herald (12/2006).[7]

Further reading

Academic and reference books

Reference books

  • Smith, M. D. (2004). Encyclopedia of Rape. USA: Greenwood Press.
  • Macdonals, John (1993). World Book Encyclopedia. United States of America: World Book Inc.
  • Kahn, Ada. (1992). The A-Z of women's sexuality : a concise encyclopedia. Alameda, Calif.: Hunter House.
  • The Columbia encyclopedia. Sixth edition, 2001-04.
  • Leonard, Arthur S. (1993). Sexuality and the law : an encyclopedia of major legal cases. New York : Garland Pub
  • Kazdin, Alan E. (2000). Encyclopedia of psychology. Washington, D.C. : American Psychological Association ; Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press
  • Sedney, Mary Anne, "rape (crime)." Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia. Scholastic Library Publishing, 2006 [18]
  • Kittleson, M., Harper, J., & Hilgenkamp, K. (2005). The Truth About Rape. USA: Facts on File
  • Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture (2004) Rape as a Method of Torture Edited by Dr Michael Peel

Secondary victimization and victim blame

  • Lamb, Sharon, The Trouble with Blame: Victims, Perpetrators and Responsibility, Harvard Univ Press, 1999.
  • Madigan, L. and Gamble, N. (1991). The Second Rape: Society's Continued Betrayal of the Victim. New York: Lexington Books.
  • Murray JD, Spadafore JA, McIntosh WD. (2005) Belief in a just world and social perception: evidence for automatic activation. J Soc Psychol. Feb;145(1):35-47.
  • Frese, B., Moya, M., & Megius, J. L. (2004). Social Perception of Rape: How Rape Myth Acceptance Modulates the Influence of Situational Factors. Journal-of-Interpersonal-Violence, 19(2), 143-161.
  • Pauwels, B. (2002). Blaming the victim of rape: The culpable control model perspective. Dissertation-Abstracts-International:-Section-B:-The-Sciences-and-Engineering, 63(5-B)
  • Blumberg, M. & Lester, D. (1991). High school and college students' attitudes toward rape. Adolescence, 26(103), 727-729.
  • Shaver (2002). Attribution of rape blame as a function of victim gender and sexuality, and perceived similarity to the victim. Journal of Homosexuality, 43(2)
  • Anderson, K. J. & Accomando, C. (1999). Madcap Misogyny and Romanticized Victim-Blaming: Discourses of Stalking in There's Something About Mary. Women & Language, 1, 24-28.
  • The effect of participant sex, victim dress, and traditional attitudes on causal judgments for marital rape victims. (Author Abstract). Mark A. Whatley. Journal of Family Violence 20.3 (June 2005): p191(10).
  • Kay, Aaron C., Jost, John T. & Young, Sean (2005) Victim Derogation and Victim Enhancement as Alternate Routes to System Justification. Psychological Science 16 (3), 240-246.

Self blame

  • Tangney, June Price and Dearing, Ronda L., Shame and Guilt, The Guilford Press, 2002
  • Matsushita-Arao, Yoshiko. (1997). Self-blame and depression among forcible rape survivors. Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B: The Sciences and Engineering. 57(9-B). pp. 5925.
  • Branscombe, Nyla R.; Wohl, Michael J. A.; Owen, Susan; Allison, Julie A.; N'gbala, Ahogni. (2003). Counterfactual Thinking, Blame Assignment, and Well-Being in Rape Victims. Basic & Applied Social Psychology, 25 (4). p265, 9p.
  • Frazier, Patricia A.; Mortensen, Heather; Steward, Jason. (2005). Coping Strategies as Mediators of the Relations Among Perceived Control and Distress in Sexual Assault Survivors. Journal of Counseling Psychology, Jul2005, Vol. 52 Issue 3, p267-278

Causes of multiple victimization

  • Follette et. al., (1996). Cumulative trauma: the impact of child sexual abuse, adult sexual assault, and spouse abuse. J Trauma Stress.9(1):25-35.
  • Sarkar, N. N.; Sarkar, Rina, (2005). Sexual Assault on a Woman: Its Impact on Her Life and Living in Society. Sexual & Relationship Therapy. 20 (4), 407-419
  • Parillo, K., Robert C. Freeman, & Paul Young. (2003) Association Between Child Sexual Abuse and Sexual Revictimization in Adulthood Among Women Sex Partners of Injection Drug Users. Violence and Victims. 18(4): 473-484.
  • Shields, N. & Hanneke, C. (1988). Multiple Sexual Victimization: The Case of Incest and Marital Rape. In G. Hotaling, D. Finkelhor, J. Kirkpatrick, & M. Strauss (Eds), Family abuse and its consequences: New directions in research. (pp. 255-269). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
  • Sorenson SB, Siegel JM, Golding JM, Stein JA. (1991). Repeated sexual victimization. Violence Vict., 6(4): 299-308.

Male victims

  • Dorais, Michel, Don't Tell: The Sexual Abuse of Boys, McGill-Queen Univ Press, 2002.
  • Mezey, Gillian, and King, Michael, Male Victims of Sexual Assault, Oxford, 2000.

Theories

  • Anderson, Peter and Struckman-Johnson Cindy, Sexually Aggressive Women: Current Perspectives and Controversies, Guilford, 1998.
  • Harris, Grant, et al, The Causes of Rape: Understanding Individual Differences in Male Propensity for Sexual Aggression, American Psychological Association, 2005.
  • "Psychosexual Disorders." Section 15, Chapter 192 in The Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy , edited by Mark H. Beers, MD, and Robert Berkow, MD. Whitehouse Station, NJ: Merck Research Laboratories, 2002.
  • Brownmiller, Susan: Against Our Will : Men, Women, and Rape, Ballantine Books, 1975.
  • Gavey, Nicola, Just Sex: The Cultural Scaffolding of Rape, Routledge, 2005.
  • Scruton, Roger, Sexual Desire: A Moral Philoshopy of the Erotic, Free, 1986.
  • Ellis, Lee, Theories of Rape: Inquiries Into the Causes of Rape, Hemisphere, 1989.
  • McDonald, John, Rape: Controversial Issues: Criminal Profiles, Date Rape, False Reports, and False Memories, Charles C Thomas, 1995.
  • Cothran, Helen, Sexual Violence: Opposing Viewpoints, Thompson Gale, 2003.
  • Holmes, Ronald and Steven, Current Perspectives on Sex Crimes, Sage, 2002.
  • Emilie Buchwald, Pamela Fletcher, Martha Roth (ed.), Transforming a Rape Culture, Milkweed Editions, 2005.
  • Kanin, Eugene J. (1994). False Rape Allegations. Archives of Sexual Behavior.
  • Sarah Projansky, Watching Rape: Film and Television in Postfeminist Culture, New York University Press 2001
  • Thornhill, Randy and Palmer, Craig T. A Natural History of Rape: Biological Bases of Sexual Coercion. MIT Press, 2001.
  • Roussel, D.E. and R. Bolen. (2000). The Epidemic of Rape and Child Sexual Abuse in the United States. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
  • Mclean, D. (1995). Privacy and its invasion. CT: Praeger.
  • Margulis, Stephen T., (2003). Privacy as a social issue and behavioral concept. Journal of social issues 59(2):243-261
  • Pedersen, DM (1997) Psychological functions of privacy. Journal Of Environmental Psychology, 17:147-156

Child rape and child sexual assault

  • Levesque, Roger, Sexual Abuse of Children, Indiana University Press, 1999.
  • Pryor, Douglass, W. Unspeakable Acts: Why Men Sexually Abuse Children, New York University Press, 1996.

Female Sex Offenders

  • Denov, Myriam S., Perspectives on Female Sex Offending: A Culture of Denial, Ashgate, 2004.
  • Pearson, Patricia, When She Was Bad: Violent Women and the Myth of Innocence, Viking Adult, 1997.
  • Adams, Ken, Silently Seduced: When Parents Make their Children Partners-Understanding Covert Incest, HCI, 1991.
  • Anderson, Peter B., and Struckman-Johnson Cindy, Sexually Aggressive Women: Current Perspectives and Controversies, Guilford, 1998.
  • Kierski, Werner, Female Violence: Can We Therapists Face Up to it?, Counseling and Psychotherapy Journal, 12/2002.
  • Rosencrans, Bobbie, The Last Secret: Daughters Sexually Abused by Mothers, Safer Society, 1997.
  • Miletski, Hani, Mother-Son Incest: The Unthinkable Broken Taboo, Safer Society, 1999.
  • Elliot, Michelle, Female Sexual Abuse of Children, Guilford, 1994
  • Hislop, Julia, Female Sex Offenders: What Therapists, Law Enforcement and Child Protective Services Need to Know, Issues Press, 2001.

Marital/Intimate Partner Rape

  • Easteal, P, and McOrmond-Plummer, L, Real Rape, Real Pain: Help for Women Sexually Assaulted by Male Partners, Hybrid Publishers, 2006.
  • Russell, Diana E.H., Rape in Marriage, MacMillan Publishing Company, 1990.
  • Bergen, Raquel K., Wife Rape: Understanding the Response of Survivors and Service Providers, Sage Publications Inc., 1996.
  • Finkelhor, D. and Yllo, K., License to Rape: Sexual Abuse of Wives, The Free Press, 1985.
  • Hall, R., James, S. and Kertesz, J., The Rapist Who Pays the Rent Women Against Rape, UK.

Male Sexual Offenders

  • Shapcott, David, The Face of the Rapist, Penguin Books, Auckland, 1988.
  • Groth, Nicholas A., Men Who Rape: The Psychology of the offender, Plenum Press, New York, 1979.

Others

  • de Becker, Gavin (1998). The Gift of Fear: Survival Signals that Protect Us from Violence. New York: Dell. ISBN 0-440-22619-8 (recognising and handling dangerous people and situations)
  • Doe, Jane (2003). The Real Story of Jane Doe. Toronto: Random House.
  • Ghiglieri, Michael P. (1999). The Dark Side of Man: Tracing the Origins of Violence. Reading, MA: Perseus Books, 1999. ISBN 073820076X.
  • Hillers, Marta. A Woman in Berlin: Six Weeks in the Conquered City. Translated by Anthes Bell. ISBN 0-8050-7540-2.
  • McElroy, Wendy (2001). Sexual Correctness: The Gender-Feminist Attack on Women. Jefferson, NC: McFarland. ISBN 0786411449.
  • Kipnes, Laura, The Female Thing: Dirt, Sex, Envy, Vulnerability. ISBN 0-375-42417-2.
  • Sebold, Alice (1999). Lucky: A Memoir. New York: Scribner. ISBN 0684857820. (author recounts her own rape at the age of 18)

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