Rape Definition Essay

“Rape is unique. No other violent crime is so fraught with controversy, so enmeshed in dispute and in the politics of gender and sexuality… And within the domain of rape, the most highly charged area of debate concerns the issue of false allegations. For centuries, it has been asserted and assumed that women “cry rape,” that a large proportion of rape allegations are maliciously concocted for purposes of revenge or other motives.”

    There is a long history of rape and rape culture. Over the years history has changed the definition of rape because it was too broad and different jurisdictions interpreted it differently to disenfranchise certain victims. Rape is defined by Webster Dictionary as “ to seize and take away by force.” Legal definition of rape is “nonconsensual sexual intercourse that is committed by physical force, threat of injury, or other duress.” Common law defines rape as “unlawful intercourse by a man against a woman who is not his wife, by force or threat and against her will.” The new definition states rape as “penetration, no matter how slight of the vagina or anus with any body part

Rape. What is rape? An act of sexual assault? It is a lot more than that. Rape is the robbery of purity and the murder of innocence. One wants to move on but they can’t because it still haunts them. One cannot get over it because they lost something that maybe they will gain-Innocence.

In America, rape has been around since the 1800’s. Rape culture in the U.S. started with white men raping black women during slavery and unfortunately it was allowed. When black women were raped, they wouldn’t consider it a crime because it was the norm. According to the article, “History of the Rape Crisis Movement” written by Gillian Greensite, “White men would get in groups and rape black women.” African American women had no rights and therefore no voice to protest these action until 1866, when a group of African American women finally spoke out about being raped during a memphis riot by a gang of white men. (Sniffen)

Many of the research methods for which the research we have reviewed is classified as either exploratory or constructive. Rape culture, victim blaming, and rape myths encompass more gray areas (uncertainties) than mere black (wrong) and white (right) understandings. As few of the studies specifically sought to gain insight in what is considered consent, therefore they exploratory research wanting to purely define and identify the miscommunication and mixed opinions of interpretations of consent, as they consider this to be a root to the problem of rape (16p.907)(8p.470)(19p.518). A couple other studies we found went a different route and chose to test theories they had relating to rape and then went on to propose solutions

Rape, as defined by the Uniform Crime Reporting Program in 2011, is “penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim.” This differs from the previous definition of rape, “first established in 1927, ‘the carnal knowledge of a female, forcibly and against her will.’ It thus included only forcible male penile

According to Marshall University’s Women Center, the definition of rape culture is “an environment in which rape is prevalent and in which sexual violence against women is normalized and excused in the media and popular culture.” (“Rape Culture.”) This can be found in ideas such as victim-blaming, trivialization of assault, and pressure for individuals to adhere to strict gender roles. This culture is

The history of rape is a rather bleak one. For as long as America has been America, the subject of rape has been sketchy at best. For much of the United States history, a person, preferable a white male, could legally own another human. This right didn’t just include African American males and females but also white women in the form of marriage. In fact, it wasn’t until quite recently that a man could legally rape his own wife. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation website, the former definition of was, “The carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will.” (www.fbi.gov) this definition excluded many criminal offenses including the rape of a man’s wife, male rapes, and oral and object penetration. The new definition

America has a proud history of being a country that has many different ethnicities and cultures living within its borders. But one of the most prevalent cultures is one that transcends race or country of origin, rape culture. The term used by modern day feminist and gender activist defines a culture which normalizes rape and sexual assaults because of the deeply rooted societal attitudes towards gender and sexuality. In a rape culture the instances of rape are accepted as everyday occurrences and even as the prerogative of men, resulting in the stigmatization and blame placing of rape victims. Although the phrase “rape culture” is relatively modern, the

While there are many problems in the world, like poverty, famine, cancer, and an abundance of carbon emissions into the planet, there is one that has been in the back of my mind for quite some time: rape culture. This issue is vastly popular in the world of bloggers and social networking site, tumblr. It’s slowly progressing into an important issue that the public is acknowledging. Reviewing the issue’s historical, social, political, cultural and economic perspectives will entail rape culture’s controversy.

Feminist scholarship has argued that rape ideology encourages and justifies sexual coercion, trivializes sexual violence and demeans and devalues women who have experienced sexual assault. The foundation of this argument is based on women's experiences in patriarchal societies. Due to the fact that

Rape has been an ongoing issue within society for centuries. In early times, men raped women for reproductive purposes. Today, it is still believed

Even though the first amendment states freedom of expression, statistics show rape and sexual assault numbers have risen due to the presence of rape culture in modern society. Rape culture promotes more assaults and violent acts, not only towards women but also towards men. Some evidence rape culture is present in today’s society are rising statistics showing that only three out of a hundred rapists see jail time and that over 17 million American women are victims of sexual assault every year. Rape culture is seen in every aspect of daily American life, even if people do not realize it.

     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.

Rape culture is an environment in which social attitudes have the effect of normalizing sexual violence against women and excusing it in the media and other popular cultures. Rape culture attempts to rationalize a continuum of sexual violence that range from sexist remarks to unwanted sexual touching, and rape itself. Rape culture has become so desensitized by society that perpetrators may not be aware of their wrongdoings and victims may not realize they are being victimized. It is a culture in which victims are suppressed when they decide to speak up about their traumatic attack, because they are seen as being dramatic or untruthful while the perpetrator's actions are left unpunished. While the majority of victims are women, rape culture is not solemnly an issue of female oppression, it is a general disconnect between human beings. It is a culture that many of us refuse to accept exist, however there are numerous examples that normalize rape and sexual assault on a daily basis. Rape culture is not a new topic. The term was first used back in the 1970’s by a group of feminist to raise the awareness of the normalization of sexual violence in society. In recent years the topic has become a popular, controversial issue and has come to permeate virtually every aspect of our lives through media, song lyrics, and everyday jargon.