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* [[Incest]]
* [[Incest]]
* [[Sexual assault]]
* [[Sexual assault]]
*[[Domestic Violence Against Men]]
* [[Sexual harassment]]
* [[Sexual harassment]]
* [[Sydney gang rapes]]
* [[Sydney gang rapes]]

Revision as of 10:57, 16 September 2006

For other uses, see Rape (disambiguation).
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Rape is the act of forcing penetrative sexual acts, against his or her will through violence, force, threat of injury, or other duress, or where the victim is unable to decline, due to the effects of drugs or alcohol. Rape is considered one of the most serious sex crimes in general.

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

The related term statutory rape is where a sexual act is automatically considered rape by the law, regardless of whether it was coercive or consensual. Such laws are common. They exist in order to prevent adults from having sex with minors, who are more easily influenced and therefore are protected by being automatically deemed unable to give legally effective informed consent. Forcible or non-consensual acts that do not meet the criterion for rape in a jurisdiction (in most cases because they are not penetrative) are often called sexual assault instead.

The word originates from the Latin verb rapere: to seize or take by force. The Latin term for the act of rape itself is raptus. The term is sometimes used by analogy to refer to any act of serious violation of the person, and in a non-sexual sense referring to acts of invasive destructiveness.

Definitions of rape

Rape is, in most jurisdictions, a crime defined as sexual intercourse or penetration without valid consent by both parties. In some jurisdictions, rape is defined by penetration of the anus or the vagina by a penis, while in other jurisdictions, the penetration of either the vagina or the anus need not be by a penis, but can be by other objects such as a finger or a hand-held object, or the forcing of a penis into a vagina by a female (male rape). Some jurisdictions expand the definition of rape further to include other sexual acts without valid consent, including oral copulation and masturbation. The lack of valid consent does not necessarily mean that the victim explicitly refused to give consent; generally, where consent was obtained by physical force, threat of injury, or other duress, or where consent was given by a person whose age was below the age of consent, a person who was intoxicated by drugs or alcohol, or a person who was mentally impaired by illness or developmental disability, the consent is considered invalid. (When the sexual activity involved a person whose age was below the age of consent, the crime defined is often known as "statutory rape," although a number of U.S. jurisdictions use terms such as "unlawful sexual intercourse" to avoid the forcible connotation of the word "rape.")

Rape and human rights

Probably for much of human history, rape, violence, and war have often occurred in connection with one another. In the twentieth century, the use of rape as a "weapon of war" has been well documented and addressed by NGOs as well as the United Nations [1] and national governments. If the victim is under 18 the rapist may be charged with child abuse.

Sociobiological analysis of rape

Main article: Sociobiological theories of rape

Some animals appear to exhibit behaviors that resemble rape in humans, in particular combining sexual intercourse with violent assault, such as are observed in ducks, geese, and certain species of dolphins. It is difficult to determine to what extent the idea of rape can be extended to intercourse in animal species, as the defining attribute of rape in humans is the lack of informed consent, which is difficult to determine in animals. See also: Non-human animal sexuality.

Some sociobiologists argue that our ability to understand rape, and thereby prevent and treat it, is severely compromised because its basis in human evolution has been ignored. They argue that rape, as a reproductive strategy, is encountered in many instances in the animal kingdom, including among the great apes, and presumably also among early humans. 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. (Thornhill & Thornhill, 1983). Such sociobiological theories, regarding rape as adaptive, are highly controversial, and are not accepted by all mainstream scientists.

Camille Paglia and some sociobiologists have argued that victim-blaming should not be totally dismissed in all cases, because some sociological models suggest that it may be genetically-inbuilt for a certain proportion of men and women to act in ways that would tend to raise the chances of rape occurring, and that this may be a biological feature of the species. This, however, is a very controversial view. A contrasting view, given by Lewis Thomas in his "The Lives of a Cell: Notes of a biology watcher", rebuts claims that rape is of evolutionary benefit, arguing instead that it is strongly maladaptive, and therefore selected against. Others dismiss Lewis Thomas' conclusion, by pointing out that what is maladaptive in one place and time, may be adaptive in another place and time. For example, in certain animal groups females only voluntarily mate with alpha males. In such an environment, non-alpha males are able to pass on their genes by impregnating females without their consent. Clearly, in animals with this behavior, the genes of non-alpha males who don't participate in this strategy are lost forever, while the genes of non-alpha males who do participate in this strategy are passed on.

The role of control and loss of privacy in rape

Rape has been regarded as "a crime of violence and control" since the 1970s. According to psychological analysis literature, "control" is a key feature 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…

Consequently, it is important to be aware of the approach of this subject of rape through the concept of privacy because of the historical background and the need to bypass certain stigmas.

References


See also

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 <http://gme.grolier.com>
  • 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. Winter;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 Univ Press, 1999.
  • Pryor, Douglass, W. Unspeakable Acts: Why Men Sexually Abuse Children, New York University Press, 1996.

Female Sex Offenders

  • 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.

Non-human rape

  • Gowaty, P.A. and N. Buschhaus. (1997). Functions of aggressive and forced copulations in birds: female resistance and the CODE hypothesis. American Zoologist (in press)

Others

  • McElroy, Wendy, Sexual Correctness: The Gender-Feminist Attack on Women, McFarland, 2001.
  • Gavin de Becker. The Gift of Fear. ISBN 0-440-22619-8 , (recognising and handling dangerous people and situations)
  • Doe, Jane. The Real Story of Jane Doe. Toronto: Random House, 2003.
  • Ghiglieri, Michael P. (1999). The Dark Side of Man: Tracing the Origins of Violence. USA: Perseus Books.
  • Alice Sebold Lucky: A Memoir ([2002]) ISBN 0-316-09619-9 (author recounts her own rape at the age of 18)

Research resources on sexual assault and rape

Statistics on sexual violence and reporting

Definitions of rape and sexual assault

Message boards for rape victims

Marital/Intimate partner rape links

Non-stereotypical sexual assault

Female-female rape links

Male-male and female-male rape links

LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer)

Victim blame

Self blame

Politics of rape

Sexual assault awareness raising for victim's rights

Emerging and controversial research topics

Drugs and alcohol in rape

Miscellaneous

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