Essay about Acquaintance Rape

“I felt his hands start to move down towards my shorts as if he was trying to unbutton them or pull them off. I was still crying at this point and felt so scared that I couldn't move” (Hummer, 1989). These were the words said by a freshman away at college after she had been sexual assaulted. From the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National network, statistics show that “over 90 percent of all gang rapes on college campuses involve fraternity men” (Hummer, 1989). Most often these woman may be labeled as trash, shameful, or ready for action, aside from a victim, prey, or survivor. Rape myths encourage these deprecating terms for women and cover the reality of a rape culture.

When asked to define the word rape, a number of responses may be given depending upon what country or state one lives in and if one is a male or female. According to Pandora’s Project.org, rape is defined as any sexual contact or penetration attained without consent; with physical force, intimidation, threat, trickery, or when the victim is mentally capacitated, physically or mentally impaired, asleep or unconscious; this includes due to voluntary or involuntary alcohol or drug consumption.

     Rape is a physical attack, not sex. Rape crisis counselors and researchers define rape as an act of violence in which sex is used as a weapon (Benedict 2). A woman is raped in this country every two minutes. Between 1996 &1999 7,787,00 rapes were reported. The

Every part of our research statement has been defined now, and the purpose of defining each aspect ourselves was to not be over or under inclusive. The reason we have narrowed down the definition of sexual assault to just forced intercourse is because among a crime that is not often reported, rape is the aspect that females will most commonly report to authorities. We chose seventeen as our minimum age because it is the legal age of consent in Texas, and any female older than seventeen is also at risk of being raped on a campus. It may seem over inclusive to add every age over seventeen, but all sexual assault crimes, regardless of age, are reported in the Clery Act. Just studying females is important because they are the most likely population to be victims of sexual assault. Finally, public campuses are the only Universities we are using because data is more readily available and representative of actual crime rates.

Some circumstances that constitute rape may be, the victim could be abused physically or mentally. Physically meaning by bruising, lacerations and trauma to the private areas. Mentally by not being able to remember much of what happened due to the experience being so traumatizing. The mental abuse could last for a life time which would possibly cause trust issues in future relationships. The victim may show signs of depression, guilt, anger etc.

 Date rape is a forcible sexual intercourse by an acquaintance, where one resists sexual advances either verbally or physically. The perpetrator of this crime varies from boyfriends to casual acquaintances. The Centers for Disease Control reported that eight out of ten rape or sexual-assault cases were carried out by people of these relationship statuses. Sometimes rapists claim they are given given mixed signals, or even misread simple flirtation as a woman’s sexual advance. In any situation, a woman is not

The acceptance of rape myths and sexual scripts are also major contributors to the thriving rape culture. Rape myths are the false but commonly-held beliefs about rape, and they are closely related to sexual scripts, the culturally established prototypes for how sexual encounters should proceed. Both of these elements support the act of rape and promote the victim blaming and normalization that rape culture entails. Key rape myths include: 1. Husbands can’t rape their wives, 2. Men must engage in sex once sexually aroused 3.Women ask to be raped 4. Rapist are different from most other men 5. Women enjoy rape 6. Women lie about being raped. These incorrect principles can be traced to the patriarchal system that accepts and fosters rape as an

     Sexual assault is a term that is used interchangeably with the word rape. The decision on whether or not to use the term rape or sexual assault is made by a state’s jurisdiction. Sexual assault is more readily used in an attempt to be more gender neutral (National Victim Center). Sexual assault can be most easily described as forced or unconsentual sexual intercourse. The individual that is performing these acts on the victim may either be a stranger or an acquaintance. In 1994, 64.2 percent of all rapes were committed by someone the offender had previously known (Ringel, 1997). Regardless, this type of crime can have extreme effects on the victim.

What is rape, and to whom does it happen? Generally speaking, rape is a violent sexual act imposed on a nonconsenting partner that makes you question many things about yourself. Unfortunately the mythology usually surrounding rape is that it only happens to women. The fact is, rape does not only happen to women, but men as well. It is one of the most misunderstood of all crimes, and when the victim is male, understanding why it has happened, is one of the hardest things to comprehend.

Rape is an experience which shakes the foundations of the lives of the victims. For many its effect is long term, impairing their capacity for personal relationships, altering their behaviour and values and generating fear, Temkin (1986:17).

Sexual assault and rape has always been a social and public issue in the United States. A majority of the time, women become the victims, while men become the perpetrators. National surveys in the United States show that one in six women has experienced an attempted or completed rape. Consent appears to be a critical factor in determining whether assault or rape has taken place. Women have a higher chance of being raped by who they are acquainted with rather than strangers.

Rape, or forcible sexual intercourse without consent from both parties, may involve physical violence, threats, and verbal abuse to intimidate and violate one person's body. Rape is considered a federal offense in the Western world. A perpetrator committed in the act of forcible intercourse is known as a rapist. According to the American Medical Association, rape

p. 69).” rape is violence against women. It is a violation of her body and her trust. According to Burns, a sociologist at Michigan State University, “rape is forced and unwanted intercourse, where sexual assault is used as a power and sex is a method (Mousseau, 2006. p. 1).” Most rapes are committed not by strangers, but by men known to women, perhaps someone they have gone out with or are supposedly their friends. It can be someone she just met or even her fiancé, but often it is an attempt to assert power or anger. A study by the National Center for the Preventive and Control rape claims ninety percent of rapes are never reported. In those that are reported, sixty percent knew their assailants. Of these, women fifteen to twenty-five are majority of the victims. Alcohol and drugs sometimes play a significant factor, especially in date rape or acquaintance rape cases (Mousseau, 2006).

College-age adults are known to be high risk for sexual violence and most studies show that one in three women have experiences some type of sexual assault whether it was through physical force or harassment. These statics are known by most women on college campuses to ensure that women know and understand that this could happen to them. The issue is more than ensuring that women are aware of how protect themselves and know how to avoid these situations because it shouldn’t even be happening. When women are taught that they should know how to defend themselves we are saying that this type of behavior is normal and inevitable. We should shift from this dynamic and start teaching both men and women that this behavior is completely unacceptable and that sexually assaulting or harassing someone is NOT normal. This paper will mostly focus on incidents of rape and sexual assault on college campuses and what the outcome and reactions of these incidents were.

     Webster’s Dictionary describes rape as the crime of forcing another person to submit to sex acts, especially sexual intercourse. Rape is a crime in which most women cannot defend themselves. The fear of rape plagues every woman at some point or another in her life. The traumatic effects of rape vary from mild to severe, from psychological to physical. This paper will evaluate rape, as well as the effects it has on women, the theory behind male dominance and patriarchy, and differences in demographics.