The Realities of Rape Essay

“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.

Researchers have come up with various explanations trying to explain the sexual abuse cases in the globe. Some of these explanations form a basis on psychological perspectives, biological perspectives, and criminal perspectives. Despite these differences, rape cases are considered a violation of an individual right and the traumatizing effects are reported to be similar. The paper will focus mainly on the criminological approach to rape cases (Grooth & Jean, 1979). Various criminologists’ literature will be reviewed in association to rape as an offense against the law.

     There are two sides to a rape, the rapist and the victim. The victim is most of the time a woman but men are raped as well. It is a common myth that there is a type of woman that is more likely to be raped. This is indeed a myth, most of the time rape is a crime of opportunity, the victim is not chosen because of her looks or behavior, but because she is there (Benedict 2). The average rape victim is 18-39 years old and female, the average rapist is 25 years old and male. The effect of rape on a woman is an enormous one. The woman will come away from a rape with both physical and psychological damage. Eventually the physical wounds will heal, the psychological wounds will take quite some time before or if they ever heal (Grady 4). A sexual assault robs the woman of a sense of control; a feeling of loss of freedom is common among rape victims. To put her life in order she must regain this sense of control. Almost all rape victims suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder (Benedict 2). The first symptom is the reliving or re-experiencing of the

Women tend to be the overwhelming victims of sexual assault and rape while men tend to be the perpetrators. According to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC), one in five women and one in seventy-one men will be raped at some point in their lives. Unfortunately, the overwhelming majority of victims are women who have been victimized by men. There are two major forms of sexual assault, which includes non-consensual forced physical sexual behavior such as rape or sexual assault. The second type of assault is the Psychological form of abuse, such as sexual harassment, stalking, human trafficking, and indecent exposure and the targets of exhibitionism, especially children.

Rape is a crime in which one person forces another person with threats, physical force or deception to have sex or sexual contact. In many cases rape is often through penetration, but victims are submitted to rape under different circumstances, such as oral sex, therefore rape has many muddled definitions. The various definitions of rape is a consequence of different cultural backgrounds and stereotypes. Sexual assaults have an effect on everyone either directly or indirectly, especially when victim blaming. Rape is not biased, for it can occur to any person despite their age, gender, religion, education level, sexual orientation or ethnicity. “According to the Department of Justice the average number of rape cases reported annually is approximately 89,000, but many victims are fearful to report their case to the police, for they do not want to be blamed for their assault.” (The Offender 's) Victim blaming in rape cases is a direct correlation to stereotypes. Some stereotypes that affect victim blaming is sexual orientation, promiscuity, gender roles, and race. “These contributing factors are stemmed from the much larger problem of society 's idea of gender and race stereotypes.” (Gill)

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.

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).

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.

When you think of socks, what comes to mind? Like me, I’m sure you picture the everyday items you wear on your feet to keep them comfortable. In recent times however it appears that socks have become a national topic of debate, with a divided public opinion. How could such a trivial thing become so important to society? A respected teacher at Nelson College for Girls highlighted just how controversial such a small item of attire could be, prompting the wake of what we teenagers believe should be a national, global topic of conversation - rape culture. The issue arose when the teacher made an innocent comment communicating the pornographic and creepy ‘look’ of the thigh-high sock students had been wearing as opposed to regular tights. The specific choice of language implied the socks were an invitation for sexual prejudice; the socks were asking for more than what their wearer was aware. The statement was only a surface layer to a deeper societal issue.

Rape also known as sexual assault is having sexual intercourse or any form of sexual penetration against a person’s will or consent. It could be carried out by coercion, the use of physical power or abuse of authority. It is an act many societies, if not all discourage, and attracts different form of punishment in different geographical locations. There are many consequences of rape; some people suffer from depression, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Suicidal tendencies, and Anxiety Disorder. It was not a surprise when the Mr. Cosby’s alleged case of rapes were waved and flooded to the entire media channels in the USA and other countries. Majority of people can recall number of such cases where some prominent African – Americans were sued

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).

Most people think that rape is about sex but it is not. If rape was about getting sex the person would just go and have sex with someone who wants to give it to them. Paying for sex is better than going out and raping someone. Rape is also called sexual assault. Rape is about having power and control over someone. Rape is defined as one person forcing another person, without his or her consent and using violence or threatening violence, to have intercourse or other forms of sexual activity. Usually when people hear about rape they think of a man raping a woman, but rape can happen to anyone. It is one of the worst things that can happen to someone. Some people think that rape is

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.