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Rape

*** Shopping-Tip: Rape
{{otheruses}} {{CrimLaw}}{{Abuse}} '''Rape''' is a crime where the victim is forced into sexual activity, in particular sexual penetration, against his or her will. 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.'' Originally, the word ''rape'' was akin to ''rapine'', ''rapture'', ''raptor'', and ''rapacious'', and referred to the more general violations, such as looting, destruction, and capture of citizens that are inflicted upon a town or country during war, eg. the Rape of Nanking. Today, some dictionaries still define ''rape'' to include any serious and destructive assault (crime) assault against a person or community. This article, however, focuses on sexual assault.

History
Image:Rape_of_the_Sabine_Women.jpg thumb|200px|[[Rape of the Sabine Women (Giambologna)|The Rape of the Sabine Women, a 1582 sculpture by Giambologna.]] The concept of rape, both as an Kidnapping abduction and in the sexual sense, makes its first appearance in early religion religious texts. In Greek mythology, for example, the rape of women, as exemplified by the rape of Europa (mythology) Europa, and male rape, found in the myth of Laius and Chrysippus (mythology) Chrysippus, were mentioned. Different values were ascribed to the two actions. The rape of Europa (mythology) Europa by Zeus is represented as an abduction followed by consensual lovemaking, similar perhaps to the rape of Ganymede (mythology) Ganymede by Zeus, and went unpunished. The rape of Chrysippus by Laius, however, is represented in darker terms, and was known in Classical antiquity 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 antiquity and until the late Middle Ages, rape was seen in most cultures less as a crime against a particular girl or woman than against the male figure she "belonged" to. Thus, the penalty for rape was often a fine, payable to the father or the husband whose "goods" were "damaged." That position was later replaced in many cultures by the view that the woman, as well as her lord, should share the fine equally. Rape, in the course of war warfare, also dates back to antiquity, ancient enough to have been mentioned in the Bible. The Ancient Greece Greek, Persian Empire Persian and Ancient Rome Roman troops would routinely rape women and boys in the conquered towns. Rape, as an adjunct to warfare, was prohibited by the military codex codices of Richard II of England Richard II and Henry V of England 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 1970's 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 but not of sex. In some countries the women's liberation movement of the 1970's created the first rape crisis centers. This movement was led by the National Organization for Women (NOW) ([http://www.now.org/]). One of the first two rape crisis centers, the Washington, D.C. D.C. Rape Crisis Center ([http://www.dcrcc.org]), 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. 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. The Rape and Incest National Network (RAINN) ([http://www.rainn.org/]) was founded in 1994 by a panel of people including Scott Berkowitz and the musician Tori Amos. In the United States, RAINN operates a 24 hour hotline that victims can use to get counseling. On September 2, 1998 the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda made sexual violence a war crime. 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, 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.

Non-sexual usage of term
In its original sense, dating back to antiquity, "to rape a person" meant to capture the person for the purpose of slavery enslavement, and was common in ancient warfare. In this context, the willingness of the victim is irrelevant to the categorization of the act as "rape". The "Rape of the Sabine Sabine Women" was a "rape" in this context. In Alexander Pope's ''The Rape of the Lock'', the word "rape" is used hyperbole hyperbolically in a similar context, exaggerating a trivial violation against a person. Though the sexual connotation is today dominant, the word "rape" is still sometimes used in a non-sexual context. For example, environmental destruction is sometimes described as "raping the earth", and the Rape of Nanking describes a violation both against a town, as well as the people. In "the rape of the Silmarils" in J. R. R. Tolkien's "The Silmarillion", the word "rape" is used with its old meaning of "seizing and taking away". Sometimes, the word ''rape'' is used to dysphemism dysphemistically describe forms of non-sexual unwelcome conduct ("My team got raped on the field yesterday."). It is argued by some that this usage is demeaning or disempowering to the victims and survivors of real sexual rape, because it ends up by weakening the force and horror of the word. Such metaphorical and hyperbolic usages are common with other words ("It was absolute torture" to mean ordinary embarrassment; or "I'm starving" to mean ordinary hunger), but survivors of rape and their supporters may find this type of usage deeply offensive, since it normalizes the term "rape" to cover mundane events.

Law

Common law
In the common law of the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States, "rape" traditionally describes the act of a man who forces a woman to have sexual intercourse with him. Until the late 20th Century, forced sex by a husband against his wife was not considered "rape", since a woman (for certain purposes) was not considered a separate legal person with the right of refusal, or sometimes was deemed to have given advanced consent to a life-long sexual relationship through the wedding vows. However, most Western countries have now legislation legislated against this exception. They now include spousal rape (vaginal intercourse), and acts of sexual violence, such as forced anal intercourse which were traditionally barred under sodomy laws, in their definitions of "rape". The term "rape" is sometimes considered "loaded", and many jurisdictions recognize, in its stead, broader categories of sexual assault or sexual battery (crime) battery.

U.S. Law
In the United States, there is no national rape law; instead each ''state'' drafts its own laws to deal with sexual aggression. More than half the states use narrowly defined, traditional laws that focus on the institutional, gender-specific (male perpetrator/female victim), and sexual nature of the crime. The remaining ''minority'' of states use liberalized laws that place greater emphasis on the individual, ''gender-neutral'', and violent nature of sexual coercion. However, even with all the advances that have taken place, current laws in approximately 12 states still have ''not'' acknowledged female-perpetrated sexual coercion as a potential variation of sexual aggression. Thus there is no single, universal, gender-neutral legal classification about what constitutes rape in the United States in 2006.

English law
Under the Sexual Offences Act 2003, which came into force on 1st May 2004, rape in England and Wales was redefined from non-consensual vaginal or anal intercourse, and is now defined as non-consensual penis penetration of the vagina, anus or mouth of another person. The changes also made rape punishable with a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. Although a woman who forces a man to have sex cannot be prosecuted for rape under English law, if she helps a man commit a rape she can be prosecuted for the crime. A woman can also be prosecuted for causing a man to engage in sexual activity without his consent, a crime which also carries a maximum life sentence if it involves penetration of the mouth, anus or vagina. The statute also includes a new sexual crime, called "assault by penetration", which also has the same punishment as rape, and is committed when someone sexually penetrates the anus or vagina with a part of his or her body, or with an object, without that person's consent.

United States: rape reporting
According to USA Today reporter Kevin Johnson, "no other major category of crime - not murder, assault or robbery - has generated a more serious challenge of the credibility of national crime statistics" as has the crime of rape. He says:

"There are good reasons to be cautious in drawing conclusions from reports on rape. The two most accepted studies available - the FBI's annual Uniform Crime Report and the Justice Department's annual National Crime Victimization Survey - each have widely acknowledged weaknesses."

The FBI's report fails to reports rapes with male victims, both of adults and children, fails to report non-forcible rapes of either gender ''by either gender'', and reflects only the number of rapes reported to police. The Justice Departments survey solicits information from people 12 and older, excluding the youngest victims of rape (and incest). However, by using a random national telephone survey of households, the National Crime Victimization Survey could pick up rapes unreported to the police. In addition, since both official reports collect rape data from states with widely divergent standards and definitions on what constitutes rape, uniform reporting is impossible. The latest official attempt to improve the tracking of rape, the National Violence Against Women survey, first published in 1998 by the National Institute of Justice and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is sexist in it's very title. In addition, it's authors have acknowledged that they used different methodologies with "relatively high" margins of error. The 2000 report notes that "because annual rape victimization estimates (''nationwide'') are based on responses from ''only 24 women and 8 men'' (emphasis added) who reported being raped, they should be viewed with caution." The report goes on to note that it fails to report rapes perpetrated against children and adolescents, was well as those who were homeless, or living in institutions, group facilities, or in households without telephones. In addition, since there is no national standard, much less a ''uniform'' national standard for defining and reporting male-male and female-perpetrated rapes, since more than half the states use traditional gender-specific (limited to male perpetration against females) rape law, and since rape laws in approximately 12 states do not even acknowledge the ''possibility'', much less the occurrence, of female-perpetrated rape, the occurrences of these types of rape are likely to be significantly ''underreported'' as compared to the well-known but biased reports of rapes perpetrated by men against women.

United States: Rape Statistics
{{Expand}} (Suggest a trend chart of rape statistics here that includes All forms of rape).

Types of rape

Violent rape
"Violent rape" is said to occur when violence beyond the rape itself is a part of the assault. This may include physical force, harm, threat of harm, including death threats, or threats against a family member. Violent rapes are likely to be reported (Bachman and Saltzman, 1995) more often than non-violent rapes on a proportional basis. However, many organisations and victims of rape consider any rape to be a violent crime, as rape is more about power and violence than sex (as confirmed by many rapists who used supposed "non-violent" rape).

Rape of children by parents, elder relatives and other responsible elders
This form of rape is incest when committed by the child's parents or close relatives such as grandparents, aunts and uncles. It is considered incestuous in nature but not in form when committed by other elders, such as priests, nuns or other religious authorities, school teachers, or therapists, to name a few, on whom the child is dependent. Psychologists (see incest) estimate that 40 million adults, 15 million of those being men, in the United States were sexually abused in childhood often by parents, close relatives and other elders — of ''both'' genders — on whom they were dependent. Children raped by parents and other close elders are often called 'secret survivors' by psychologists, as they often are unable or unwilling to tell anyone about these rapes due to implicit or explicit threats by the adult rapist, fear of abandonment by the rapist, and/or overwhelming shame. Since the signs of these insidious rapes are usually invisible except to trained professionals these children often suffer ongoing offenses in silence until independence from the adult rapist is attained. By that time, the statute of limitations is often long-expired, the adult victim's repressed memory repressed memories are often considered inadmissible as evidence and the child-rapist is able to escape justice. In addition, rapists who rape their own children are considered less culpable, legally, than other rapists in ''most'' US states.

Statutory rape
{{main|Statutory rape}} National and/or regional governments, citing an interest in protecting "young people" (variously defined but sometimes synonymous with minors), treat any sexual contact with such a person as an offense (not always categorised as "rape"), even if he or she agrees to the sexual activity. The offense is often based on a presumption that people under a certain age are unable to give informed consent. The age at which individuals are considered competent to give consent is called the age of consent. The age set by each state varies in accordance with local standards, and range from 12 to 21. Sex which violates age-of-consent law, but is neither violent nor physically coerced, is sometimes described as "statutory rape", the name of a legally-recognized category in the United States. The French film ''Strayed'', screened in 2003, depicts a rarely shown example of what would be called statutory rape, in the ''United States'', by an adult woman against a 17-year-old male adolescent.

Acquaintance ("date") rape
The term, "acquaintance rape" (or "date rape") refers to rape or non-consensual sexual activity between people who are already acquainted, or who know each other socially — friends, acquaintances, people on a date, or even people in an existing romantic relationship — where it is alleged that consent for sexual activity was not given, or was given under duress. In most jurisdictions, there is no legal distinction between rape committed by a stranger, or by an acquaintance, friend or lover. (see also "Gray rape" below.)

Spousal Rape
{{cleanup-date|March 2006}} Spousal rape is also called marital rape, wife rape, partner rape or intimate partner sexual assault (IPSA). Because there is a widely held view that a woman surrenders consent upon entering a relationship, the law has been slow to criminalize this form of rape/sexual assault. It is now a crime in most parts of the West, but exemptions still apply in some places; for example in some places a partner rape cannot be prosecuted if the couple were living together at the time of the assault. Research has established many times over that partner rape on women by men takes place at a shockingly high frequency: In 1975, the results of an American study on many rape situations were published. Diana E.H. Russell was so appalled by her findings on rape in marriage that she decided to conduct a research project on this area alone. From the 930 interviews conducted with women from a cross section of race and class, Russell concluded that rape in marriage was the most common yet most neglected area of sexual violence (Russell, Diana E.H. 'Rape in Marriage' MacMillan Publishing Company, USA 1990) In 1994, Patricia Easteal, then Senior Criminologist at the Australian Institute of Criminology, published the results of survey on sexual assault in many settings. The respondents were survivors of numerous forms of sexual assault. Of these, 10.4% had been raped by husbands or de-factos, with a further 2.3 per cent raped by estranged husbands/defactos. 5.5 percent were raped by non-cohabiting boyfriends (Easteal, P. "Voices of the Survivors", Spinifex Press, North Melbourne, 1994). David Finkelhor & Kersti Yllo's famous 1985 study estimated that 10 to 14 per cent of all married American women have been or will be raped by their spouses .(Finkelhor, D. and Yllo, K., "License to Rape", The Free Press, New York 1985) In the UK, statistics disseminated by the Rape Crisis Federation yield the information that the most common rapists are current and ex-husbands or partners (Myhill & Allen, Rape and Sexual Assault of Women: Findings from the British Crime Survey http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs2/r159.pdf) Other figures estimate that one in seven women is raped by a sexual intimate. For a brief overview view of partner rape, see [http://www.star.ak.org/Library/files/maritalrape.htm STAR Library - Marital Rape] Spousal rape also occurs in lesbian and gay relationships. It is not known to what extent women sexually assault male partners. Due to popular stereotypes of "real" rape, it is often assumed that if a couple have been sexually intimate, a partner rape is not as traumatic as other types of rape. However the research of Finkelhor and Yllo (1985) and Bergen (1996) reveals that victims of marital/partner rape suffer longer lasting trauma than victims of stranger rape. One reason for this is thought to be the lack of social validation that prevents a victim from getting access to support. Domestic violence services have made inroads in addressing this problem.

Gang Rape
Group rape (also known as "gang" or "pack" rape) occurs when a group of people participate in the rape of a single victim. It is far more damaging to the victim, and in some jurisdictions, is punished more severely than rape by a single person. The term Gang bang "gang bang" was a synonym for gang rape when public discussion of sexual activity in general was taboo; however in the advent of the porn industry and relaxed sexual tensions, it is now often used as a slang term for consensual group sex. The term "group rape" is now often preferred to "gang rape", as the word "gang" can have racial connotations when used against minority defendants. According to sexual crime profiler Roy Hazelwood, gang rape "involves three or more offenders and you always have a leader and a reluctant participant. Those are extremely violent, and what you find is that they're playing for each other's approval. It gets into a pack mentality and can be horrendous."

"Gray rape"
There is often more difficulty in securing conviction against an assailant who is known by the victim at the time. This is due to the "gray" nature of the situation. In what is colloquially described as a "gray rape" case, the victim is unable to demonstrate non-consent although he or she expresses displeasure at the encounter. The expression "gray rape" refers to the absence of information — there is nothing "gray" in the act itself: if the act was non-consensual at the time it occurred, then it is considered rape, even if not actionably so. Contributing factors to "gray" rape include poor communication by either party, misleading or (possibly deliberate) misreading of body language, or the feeling by one party of being unsure or unable to express what one wishes (which may be due to many reasons). The standard of proof required for non-consensual sexual activity is often harder to meet (or easier to deny) than when two strangers meet, or where there has been violence. In general, evidence suggests that 80% of all rapists know their victims [http://www.aaets.org/arts/art13.htm].

Rape by gender

Rape of females by males
The rape of females by males (male-female) is the best known and most reported form of rape in the United States. Between one in three and one in six women will be sexually assaulted within their lifetimes according to RAINN and The National College Women Sexual Victimization Study. 17.7 million women have been victims of rape and attempted rape in the United States. [http://www.rainn.org/statistics/index.html RAINN] also states that young females are four times more likely than any other group to be the victims of sexual assault. More than 32,000 pregnancies result from male-female rape every year (Holmes et al. 1996). Female victims of male rape often experience multiple victimization and are assaulted more than once in their lives. By all reasonable reports male-female rape exacts a staggering toll on women in America. However, as the best known form of rape in the United States, the rape of females by males is also sometimes mistaken as the ''only'' form of rape. All forms of rape (including male on male, female-male, and female-female) are valid and, according to many, deserve investigation by researchers, reporting by crime reporters and treatment by therapists. One common false assumption about the rape of females is that a woman who lubricates, experiences arousal or even orgasms is consenting to her rape. A woman's physiological responses to sexual contact are involuntary and in no way imply consent. A woman can become aroused, lubricate, and even orgasm ''against her will'' in a rape.

Rape of males by males
It is less well-known that many men and boys have been raped by other males. Male on male rape is common in incest, incestuous rape, and other situations, (such as prison or other similar settings) where men and boys are dependent on elder males and/or are unable to escape stronger males. Since the United States Uniform Crime Report statistics are considered unreliable (see discussion(s) above) regarding rape in general, regarding the gender the victims (in some states rape of males is considered impossible by the law), and regarding the gender of the victimizer, no ''reliable'' statistics on male-male rape can be taken from these crime statistics, ''despite'' their official nature. What can be estimated from the so-called Uniform Crime Report rape statistics is that rape of males, by ''both'' genders, represents a ''minimum'' of about 10% of all rapes. However, since there is no known ''uniform'' gender-neutral data on all forms of rape it impossible to distinguish how many males were raped by ''males'' versus those ''males'' raped by ''females''. Men, young men and boys suffer rape-related trauma by rape and sexual assault just as female victims do. In addition, due to male socialization to consider all ''male-male'' sexual contact to be shameful, to 'be tough and take it like a man' and to eschew victimhood in all its forms, many males who were survivors of male rape choose to suffer in silent shame rather than risk reporting the crime. These victims consider the shame of disclosure and their likely shunning by other males, as worse than the crime itself; a form of double-bind shame similar to the double-bind blame that male-female rape victims often face. Incest by fathers or incestuous rape of male children by adult men in responsible roles is an especially insidious, shaming, and traumatic form of sexual crime against males that has gained widespread national attention in the United States due to the recent Roman Catholic sex abuse cases. Male-male rape often does deep damage to and/or destroys the survivor's image of himself as man which leaves him helpless and alone among other men in a dangerous and uncaring world. In any form or rape of a male by a male (or by a female) the ''involuntary'' physiology physiological response of erection, orgasm or enjoyment does not mean that the act was welcomed by the victim. A capable assailant, male or female, can induce these involuntary physical responses in the majority of males with force and/or with deception. Likewise, in incest or incestuous male-male rape, 'voluntary' initiation, 'voluntary' participation and involuntary enjoyment ''by the victim'', do not mean that the rape is consensual, less loathsome, and less traumatic to the victim. Many people mistake these ''involuntary'' physiological effects, falsely, as indications of consent, when in fact the male rape victims have no more control over his ''involuntary'' physiological responses than do female rape victims. Male-on-male rape does not imply homosexuality. This is a common but ''false'' misperception. People often view the male aggressor as a homosexual, and may think of the recipient as having homosexual tendencies too, especially if he shows signs of sexual stimulation during the experience. Research indicates that the most common form of male-male rape is group rape by other males who rape males who are considered less than 'real' men or latent homosexuals; therefore it is a mistake to perceive the ''rapists'' as homosexuals in these cases too. A male rape victim will often experience ''involuntary'' erection when forcibly penetrated by rapists of ''either'' gender but that does ''not'' mean that he is homosexual or that he enjoys the rape. To ''falsely'' label a male rape victim 'homosexual' just because his rapist was male can cause the rape victim double-bind shame in cultures where discrimination against homosexuals is rampant.

Rape of males by females
Women also can commit an act of rape with force or deception to make a man (or adolescent) engage in a non-consensual penetrative sexual act. According to Court TV's Crime Library, women commit about 10% of all sexual offenses and their abuse often involves their own child or children which is incest. Several widely publicized cases of female-male statutory rape in the United States involved school teachers raping their teenage male students. One infamous example involved elementary school teacher Mary Kay Letourneau, who had two children with one of her students, who was 13 when they began their affair. Rape of males by females is widely, but incorrectly, considered impossible because male erectile response is seen as voluntary, when, in fact, it is involuntary. {{cite web | year=1997 | url=http://www.ncvc.org/ncvc/main.aspx?dbName=DocumentViewer&DocumentID=32361#3 | title=Male Rape | publisher=The National Center for Victims of Crime | accessdate=2006-3-12}} Therefore, male victims of rape by females often face a social, political, and legal double-standard. Female rapists are usually seen as ''much'' less culpable than male rapists by the courts. In addition, male victims of female rape often endure a double-bind because men are considered to always ''want'' sex with a woman which means that female-on-male rape can be seen, by others, as desirable. In addition, since rape by females is ''much'' less well known, the male victims often find little support from rape crisis counselors. Finally, since the incidence of female-on-male rape is on record at much higher rates (31% compared to 10%) in Canada, it is likely being substantially under-reported in the US. In many countries, male rape is legally classified under a different law or name. However, the nature of the incident, and its consequences, are similar. It is said that male rape is taken less seriously as a result of the stereotype stereotypical views held about males in many societies, including modern Western society. Men's rights lobbyists are pushing for tougher male rape laws, and have gained some success.

Rape of females by females
Female-female rape is just beginning to be researched by psychologists. What constitutes female-female rape is defined on a state by state basis in the United States (see Law above). Female-female rape can occur against heterosexual females, by mothers against their daughter(s) (incest) or in incestuous rapes by other responsible female elders, against lesbians alone and against lesbians by their lesbian lovers. As in male-male rape, the victim of female-female rape is not necessarily homosexual simply because she is the target of assault by a woman. The attacker is not necessarily homosexual either. As in male-male prison rape, a number of authors have noted that women rape other women in prison. Lesbian sexual assault is often a peripheralized subject in today's society. Lori Girshick explores the taboo subject in her book ''Woman-to-Woman Sexual Violence: Does she call it rape''. The Network/La Red is a non-profit organization dedicated to the issue of lesbian domestic violence. Another taboo, heretofore concealed and especially terrible type of female-female rape is the rape of daughters by mothers or other female caregivers (see parental incest). Bobbie Rosencrans, a survivor of mother-daughter incest and co-author of the ''The Last Secret: Daughters Sexually Abused by Mothers'' (1997), a systematic study of 93 women and 9 men sexually abused by their mothers was flooded with responses from female subjects when she began her study. Other researchers in the counseling field have noted similar responses from victims along with persistent attempts to stifle research into mother-daughter incest and sexual abuse. It is estimated in the United States that 3-10% of all serious sexual offenses are female-female in nature. Researchers in the counseling professions believe that female-on-female sexual offenses are significantly under-reported. There is also evidence to suggest that sexual offenses committed by females against females are actively concealed and/or denied by both the offenders themselves and the wider population.

Some aspects of rape

False "Men do and Women Don't" stereotypes
In ''Sexually Aggressive Women'', 13 contributors examine false but pervasive gender steoreotypes that hamper sound rape research, that create false impressions about rape in legal, political and social circles, and that prevent acknowledgement that females oppress, dominate and sexually offend too. One contributor notes that "Ignoring sexually aggressive women ignores that harm they cause to victims, whether male or female, and could even exacerbate victims' distress by implying that their experiences are invalid or trivial." Another contributor quotes Bell Hooks who wrote:

"Emphasizing paradigms of domination that call attention to woman's capacity of dominate is one way to deconstruct and challenge the simplistic notion that man is the enemy, woman the victim: the notion that men have always been the oppressors. Such thinking enables us to examine our role as woman in the perpetration and maintenance of systems of domination."

The contributor states that research on female forms of oppression would require "acknowledging the guilt-inducing fact that not only are women oppressed but women also oppress others."

Double standards
Professionals and researchers who deal with rape-victims have noted a number of social, political, and legal double standards about rape. Rape of children by their parents (see incest) is often considered much less serious than rape by strangers of adults. Rape of males by females is often considered desirable by ''others'', criminal penalties are often much less severe and female rapists can claim such rapes are about "love" on national TV in the United States. Rape by females is often ''falsely'' held to be limited to those females who are mentally ill and who need treatment while male rapists, on the other hand, are typically considered sane and fully culpable as a default position. Additionally, in the United States accused rapists are nearly always automatically identified in the press while the accuser is allowed to remain anonymous (rape shield law). This has been highly criticized as not only being unconstitutional, but having the effect of publically trying the accused in the court of public opinion, ensuring that a fair trial cannot actually take place. Critics level that this anonyminity allows for unrestricted false rape allegations by women that may desire vengeance or feel that they were't treated with proper respect after a consensual sexual encouter (see Kobe Bryant).

Drugging
Hypnotic agents such as flunitrazepam (Rohypnol) and GHB, colloquially referred to as "date rape drugs," have been used by rapists to render their victims unconscious before raping them. According to the [http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/ongoing/daterapep.html DEA], "Victims may not be aware that they ingested a drug at all. GHB and its analog (chemistry) analogues are invisible when dissolved in water, and are odorless. They are somewhat saltish in taste, but are indiscernible when dissolved in beverages such as sodas, liquor, or beer." According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse [http://www.nida.nih.gov/infofax/RohypnolGHB.html], "Rohypnol can incapacitate victims and prevent them from resisting sexual assault. It can produce "anterograde amnesia," which means that individuals may not remember events they experienced while under the effects of the drug." The sedation sedative effects of Rohypnol begin to appear approximately 15–20 minutes after the Psychoactive drug drug is ingested. The effects typically last from four to six hours after administration of the drug, but some cases have been reported in which the effects were experienced 12 or more hours after administration. In recent news it has been discovered that scientists can now detect flunitrazepam and related compounds in urine at least up to 5 days after administration of a single dose of Rohypnol and up to a month in hair.[http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/201894.pdf NCJRS] These drugs are extremely dangerous, and may kill or render the victim comatose. It is imperative that any investigation into the suspected use of date rape drugs involve the immediate carrying out of a blood test, as waiting too long to test for the presence of drugs may cause false negatives. However, trying to deduce whether date rape drugs have been used from the symptoms is an approach that can cause false positives. In 2003, when the media were reporting a drink-spike spiking epidemic in Perth, Western Australia, 44 women had their blood tested because they believed they had been the victims of drink-spiking. The West Australian Chemistry Centre tested the blood samples and in these 44 cases, the only substance found in the victim's system was excessive alcohol. Having sex with someone who is incapacitated by Alcohol is also considered illegal according to a legal definition of rape at [http://criminal.findlaw.com/crimes/a-z/rape.html Findlaw]. In large amounts, alcohol has the same effects as date rape drugs, and causes unconsciousness and memory loss. Police said that the blood-alcohol level of most of the subjects was significantly higher than what the women had themselves expected, based on their assessment of the amount of drinks consumed, and commented: :"While we can't dismiss all cases, the results suggest that a fair proportion of drink spiking is just an urban urban legend myth ... It seems that a proportion of young women are getting incredibly intoxication intoxicated, and using drink spiking as an excuse to explain behaviour they are not happy with." [http://www.thesundaymail.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,6766753%255E1702,00.html] However, the legal definition of rape encompasses a lack of consent including the victim's inability to say "no" to intercourse, due to the effects of drugs or alcohol. [http://criminal.findlaw.com/crimes/a-z/rape.html Findlaw] Testing kits that claim to detect GHB, Ketamine and benzodiazepines such as Rohypnol in seconds are commercially available under names such as "The Drink Detective".

Custodial and prison rape
{{main|Custodial rape}} Research carried out by Cindy Struckman-Johnson and David Struckman-Johnson of the University of South Dakota has found that 22% - 25% of male prisoners in the United States had been the victim of sexual assault, 10% of rape, and 6% of gang rape. The Human Rights Watch report ''No Escape'' [http://www.hrw.org/reports/2001/prison/report.html] reports that prison rape is routine in US prisons. Women prisoners are especially vulnerable to assault by guards and other staff members, and the incidence in the United States has been denounced by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. Prisoners are also vulnerable to rape from other prisoners.

Rape and sexual torture
In circumstances where torture is being employed as a means of military or governmental policy, the rape of both female and male detainees is a common element of that torture. It is used often as a means to "soften" the detainees for interrogation or to intimidate them into compliance. In societies with strong social taboos on sexuality, sexual torture is commonly used to destroy the credibility and influence of political dissidents. Rape under such circumstances often has even more profoundly negative psychology psychological effects than under circumstances in which sexual assaults usually happen. Sexual torture also occurs far from government and military settings. The infliction of torment is often consciously ''intended'' in violent rapes by both genders. See also humiliation, Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse, Nanjing Massacre and Psychology of torture.

Sex trafficking
{{main|Trafficking in human beings}} '''Human trafficking''', or '''sex trafficking''' (as the majority of victims are women or children forced into prostitution) is a term used to define the recruiting, harboring, obtaining, transportation of a person by use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjecting them to involuntary acts, the most common being forced commercial sexual exploitation (forced prostitution). Human trafficking is not the same as people smuggling. A smuggler will facilitate illegal entry into a country for a fee, but on arrival at their destination, the smuggled person is free; the trafficking victim is enslaved. Victims do not agree to be trafficked — they are tricked, lured by false promises, or forced. Traffickers use coercive tactics including deception, fraud, intimidation, isolation, threat and use of physical force, debt bondage or even force-feeding with drugs of abuse to control their victims. Women are typically recruited with promises of good jobs in other countries or provinces, and, lacking better options at home, agree to migrate, not knowing they will be forced into prostitution. Due to the illegal nature of trafficking, the exact extent is unknown. A US Government report published in 2003, estimates that 800,000–900,000 people worldwide are trafficked across borders each year.

Consent
There is considerable debate as to what constitutes proper and complete Informed consent consent in a sexual relationship. How explicit should consent be, how often should it be established, and what constitutes diminished capacity (usually due to drugs or alcohol) are all subjects of some disagreement. These debates take place both on morality moral and ethic ethical grounds, and as a legal issue, since rape can only be convicted as a crime with intent in many jurisdictions, and the erroneous belief of consent is a common defense.

Victim blaming
"Victim blaming" is holding the victim of a crime to be in whole or in part responsible for what has happened to them. In the context of rape, this concept refers to popular attitudes that certain victim behaviours (such as flirting, or wearing sexually-provocative clothing) may encourage rape. In extreme cases, victims are said to have "asked for it", simply by not behaving demurely. In most Western countries, the defense of provocation is not accepted as a mitigation for rape. It has been proposed that one cause of victim-blaming is the "just world hypothesis". People who believe that the world has to be fair, may find it hard or impossible to accept a situation in which a person is unfairly and badly hurt for no cause or reason. This leads to a sense that, somehow, the victim must have surely done 'something' to deserve their fate. Another theory entails the need to protect one's own sense of invulnerability. This inspires people to believe that rape only happens to those who deserve or provoke the assault [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2294/is_n11-12_v30/ai_16320532 (Schneider et. al., 1994)]. This is a way of feeling safer. If the potential victim avoids the behaviours of the past victims then they themselves will remain safe and feel less vulnerable. A global survey of attitudes toward sexual violence by the Global Forum for Health Research [http://www.globalforumhealth.org/filesupld/vaw/attitudes.html] shows that victim-blaming concepts are at least partially accepted in many countries. In some countries, victim-blaming is more common, and women who have been raped are sometimes deemed to have behaved improperly. Often, these are countries where there is a significant social divide between the freedoms and status afforded to men and women. A more mainstream view is that everybody has the theoretical right to feel safe at all times, but that the responsibility of preventing and minimising the risk of being in a dangerous situation is largely up to the individual. On this basis, the question is not whether the victim "deserved" to be raped, because nobody "deserves" to be the victim of crime but rather whether the individual did choose to prevent or minimize the risk of being in a dangerous situation and/or the risk of harm in a dangerous situation. Under cases of alleged date rape, however, the situation is different. Because the question at hand is whether or not the incident was consensual, or whether the alleged victim encouraged the accused or gave implied consent, becomes the critical consideration. As such, arguments about the victim's conduct are an accepted element of an affirmative defense. In the United States, rape is unique in that it is the only crime in which there are statutory protections designed in favor of the victim (known as "rape shield laws"). These were enacted in response to the common defense tactic of "putting the victim on trial". Typical rape shield laws prohibit cross-examination of the victim with respect to issues, such as his or her prior sexual history, or the manner in which he or she was dressed at the time of the rape. Most states and the federal rules, however, provide exceptions to the rape shield law where evidence of prior sexual history is used to provide an alternative explanation for physical evidence, where the defendant and the victim had a prior consensual sexual relationship, and where exclusion of evidence would violate the defendant's constitutional rights.

Sexual fantasy
Psychologists have determined that Rape fantasy rape fantasies are relatively common across populations. Many people assume that people aroused by rape fantasies must be more likely than others to commit the actual act, or that women with rape fantasies actually want to become victims of violent sexual assault. This does not correspond with observed scientific evidence, however; while rapists usually fantasize about rape, so do normal, psychologically-healthy people. Criminal psychologists would be more concerned about a person's tendencies if that person was ''incapable'' of achieving sexual gratification through fantasy.

Effects of rape
A proportion of violent sexual assaults end with the death or serious injury of the victim. Other consequences can include pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases. Because of the sexual nature of rape crimes, the most common effect of rape on victims, however, is serious psychological trauma such as PTSD, OCD or dissociation. This is especially true in societies with strong sexual customs and taboos. For example, a woman (and especially a virgin) who is raped may be deemed by society to be "damaged": she may suffer isolation, be prohibited to marry, be divorced if she was married, or even killed. She may also feel "dirty", as if the crime was her fault. In the past, survivors of rape and sexual assault were often diagnosed with Rape Trauma Syndrome (RTS), then considered to be a psychological disorder. RTS is no longer considered a diagnosis, but rather a set of normal psychological and physiological reactions that a victim is likely to experience. These include, but are not limited to, feelings of guilt and shame, tension, anger, [http://www.ibiblio.org/rcip/ed_and_sa.html eating disturbances], and sometimes Clinical depression depression. The reactions are very similar to those that would be experienced by a survivor of any other traumatizing experience, and sometimes result in a diagnosis of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. These traumatic responses are often cited as one of the reasons why rape goes unreported. The process to denounce and eventually convict an offender is often hindered by similar psychological effects. Victims frequently feel shame when describing what has happened (especially if the victim is male, or if a female victim must report the incident to a male law officer). Also, the intimate questions and medical examinations required for prosecution can make the victim uncomfortable. In societies that do not accord equal civil rights to women and men, this process is even more difficult for female victims. In societies where denial, sexual stereotyping and pervasive double standards exist, victims of male-male, female-male and female-female rape often suffer double victimization when they seek support from legal, medical, and psychological professionals.

Medical emergency information
{{Main articles|Medical emergency and Sexual assault}} According to the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) in the United States, rape is a medical emergency [http://www.acep.org/1,32848,0.html]. Medical and law enforcement professionals have strongly recommended that a victim call for help calls for help and reports it. A victim who seeks immediate medical attention, will not only allow prompt treatment for possibly life-threatening injuries and diseases, but will also preserve evidence. Many recommend that victims should not bathe or clean themselves before the examination, not only to prevent the loss of physical evidence, but also to not delay medical attention. Physical injuries such as gynecologic hemorrhage gynecologic, rectum rectal or internal hemorrhage may have resulted. Additionally, emergency contraception and preventative treatment against sexually transmitted diseases may be required, in particular prophylactic treatments to prevent HIV infection. In many locations, emergency medical technicians, emergency room nurses and doctors are trained to help rape victims. Some emergency rooms have Sexual assault kit rape kits which are used to collect evidence. AIDS prophylaxis is possible within 48 hours, but is not always deemed appropriate, given: * the extremely small chance of transmission in many cases (0.1 - 0.3%, or between 1 in 333 and 1 in 1000); * the lack of certainty of any effective results (it reduces, rather than removes the risk); and * the often severe side effects of drugs required. This would usually be a clinical decision based upon circumstances. [http://www.fhi.org/en/RH/Pubs/Network/v21_1/NW21-1HIVpostexpostretmnt.htm]

RAINN
Some groups also operate hotlines to offer advice and psychological first aid. In the United States, one of the most prominent hotlines for rape victims is operated by the organization, RAINN (The Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network). RAINN is the only toll-free, completely confidential 24-hour hotline that provides this service in America. Their telephone number is 1-800-656-HOPE.

Secondary Victimization
Secondary victimization is the re-traumatization of the sexual assault, abuse or rape victim. It is an indirect result of assault which occurs through the responses of individuals and institutions to the victim. The types of secondary victimization include victim blaming, inappropriate behavior or language by medical personnel and by other organizations with access to the victim post assault. [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=10606433&dopt=Abstract (Campbell et. al., 1999)] Secondary victimization is especially rampant in cases of statutory rape. Often the minor does not feel victimized by the sexual contact, but only begins to feel like a victim when faced by the treatment they receive at the hands of law enforcement and others.

Causes of rape
According to rape researchers, the prevention of rape is likely to be successful to the extent that the causes are known. They also note that few topics generate as much heated speculation with so little empirical knowledge than research on the causes of rape. However, empirical research is beginning to replace political rhetoric with peer-reviewed science. This section studies ''both'' well-known political rhetoric about rape causeality from feminists along with empirical theories and studies about the causes of rape from scientists. As of 2006, there is no ''scientific'' theory that explains all forms of ''male-female'' rape much less the other types of rape studied in this article. No ''single'' theory of rape can be considered ''scientifically'' sound until it includes all forms and all types of rape. Given the many complex forms and modalities of rape, more than one empirical theory may be needed to explain ''all'' the causes of rape. The pervasive double standards that offendees of male-male, female-male, and female-female rape face also occur in rape research. A number of correlations have been found between rape and other contributing factors that are ''not'' in and of themselves direct causes of rape but might point to ''possible'' causes. Vulnerability [http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/factsheets/svfacts.htm CDC] and/or pre-existing conditions such as Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome increase the likihood of rape. Childhood rape, incest or sexual abuse also increases the vulnerability to adult victims of rape. Many rapists were also ''themselves'' raped, incested, and/or sexually abused in childhood, a factor that seems connected to their offenses in adulthood. One text (''The Trouble with Blame'') noted that 66% of a group of convicted ''male'' serial rapists were raped by adult ''females'' in childhood. Also there is evidence to suggest that survivors of a second offense are more vulnerable than victims of only one offense, due to higher PTSD levels. These correlations, ''by themselves'', mean nothing, but they suggest possible paths for further research into the causes of rape. Some possible causes of rape are the promotion of specific aggressive gender roles in society and confusion over appropriate behavior according to [http://endabuse.org/ End Abuse]. Some members of society are discouraged from expressing themselves and stating that "'NO' is a complete sentence" meaning it needs no further explanation. Self-styled feminist Camille Paglia calls the statement 'No always means no.', "stupid" and "absolutely meaningless" which suggests that consent versus non-consent is far from clear here. Researcher Lee Ellis listed three theories about why ''males rape females'' and analysed their associated hypotheses against the evidence. In his ''Theories of Rape'', he named the then (1989) known theses for the causes of ''male-female'' rape as: * Feminist (To quote Brownmiller rape "is nothing more or less than a conscious process of intimidation by which ''all men'' keep ''all women'' in a state of fear (emphasis in original). * Social Learning * Evolutionary In 2005, a mixed gender group of Canadian research psychologists published ''The Causes of Rape'', a wide ranging scientific study of ''male-female'' rape causality along with research on forced copulation in animals. They discounted the occurrences of and did no research on the causes of male-male, female-male, and female-female rape. However, they did note that "Few topics have generated more heated debate in the social science literature." than investigating the propensity of ''males'' to rape ''females''. These psychologists list three general groups of ''female-male'' rape cause classes with a fourth possible grouping of less common causes as follows: *Young male syndrome *Competitive disadvantage *Psychopathy *None of the above others (such as competively ''over''-advantaged, non-antisocial spouse, etc)

Rape and punishment

Punishment of assailants
Most societies consider rape to be a grave offense, and punish it accordingly. Punishment for rape in most countries today is imprisonment, but until the late twentieth century, some states of the United States U.S., for instance, could apply the death penalty in cases of aggravated rape, (in Louisiana, USA, for example) indicating the severity with which the crime was viewed (the death penalty is still in use in countries with a significant social divide between the freedoms and status afforded to men and women). Castration is sometimes a punishment for rape and, controversially, some U.S. jurisdictions allow shorter sentences for sex criminals who agree to voluntary "chemical castration." In the Southern United States Southern states of the U.S., the charge of rape was often used to justify vigilante groups ("lynch mobs") that would seize and kill men accused of rape, without due process or trial (law) trial. Victims of lynching were typically, though not always, African American. (One historic case was the lynching of Leo Frank, a Jewish American). Members of the lynch mobs were rarely prosecuted or punished for these mob killings. In some such communities, any sexual interaction between an African-American male and a White (Caucasian race Caucasian) female was viewed as rape, which resulted in a large number of (presumably) innocent men, being murdered. This resulted from the fact that it was commonly believed that no White female would ever consent to sexual relations with a Black man. Rape of Black women by White men was a practice largely ignored or simply tolerated for many years, and local governments rarely punished such rapists in these cases. Prison sentences for rape are not uniform. A study made by the U.S. Department of Justice of prison releases in 1992, involving about 80 percent of the prison population, found that the average sentence for convicted rapists was 9.8 years, while the actual time served was 5.4 years. This follows the typical pattern for violent crimes in the US, where those convicted typically serve no more than half of their sentence [http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/ascii/psatsfv.txt]. Between 2002 and 2003, more than one in ten convicted rapists in Australia served a wholly suspended sentence, and the average total effective sentence for rape was seven years [http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/10/15/1097784044926.html?from=storylhs].

Punishment of victims
While the practice is condemned as barbaric by many present-day societies, some societies punish the victims of rape as well as the perpetrators. According to such cultures, being raped dishonors the victim and, in many cases, the victim's family. In some cultures rape victims are sometimes killed to restore honor to the family's name. In the William Shakespeare Shakespeare drama ''Titus Andronicus'', Titus Andronicus kills his raped, maimed daughter in what he believes to be a mercy killing.

=Rape and cultural views
= :''Related article: Honor killing'' Certain cultures, often patriarchal, have historically promoted a system of honor, dishonor and shame, which was applied with particular strictness to females. A victim of rape would be considered to have lost her honorable reputation and place in society, a loss of honor which entailed shame on the woman's family group as well. In early ancient Rome, ancient China, and other cultures, a pressure has existed which has led women to commit suicide after becoming victims of rape. The iconic Roman instance is that of Lucretia. Likewise, suicide of female rape victims for reasons of shame is also historically documented in Chinese and Japanese culture [http://www.theophoretos.hostmatrix.org/chinesepatriarchy.htm].

Rape as punishment
Though modern societies claim to recognize the practice as barbaric, rape itself is sometimes used as a form of punishment. The victim of the rape is commonly a female relative of the person targeted for retaliation. In June 2002, a Pakistani woman named Mukhtaran Bibi was sentenced to be gang-raped by a vigilante mob after her brother was (falsely) accused of rape himself. The Pakistani government, along with local religious officials, condemned this action and sentenced the rapists to death. Many such events are reported in Pakistan and other countries. In some dictatorships, rape is, or was, used as a method to retaliate against, or to intimidate their political enemies. There are numerous allegations that this took place under the former regime of Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein. In the Abu Ghraib prison, US soldiers were using similar sexual intimidation and the threat of rape as a means of psychological torture to frighten their mostly male and muslim prisoners. After the media exposed this in its coverage of the Abu Gharib Scandal, The US government tried several junior personnel involved. There is suspicion that some rape incidents in prisons are permitted through timely guard absences (at showers, for instance). Motivations for this range from punishing troublesome prisoners to providing a deterrence deterrent to those considering a criminal act, particularly among those who have little to lose from incarceration (e.g. homeless persons in winter).

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, [http://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/49/a49r205.htm] and national governments.

Rapists

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, criminology criminologists, and law enforcement agencies often use these profiles to analyze rapists, and prevent future rapes. Since rapes are predominantly perpetrated by men, a male perpetrator is assumed in these profiles: *'''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 places like bars, 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 stalking 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 fantasy 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 drug abuse substance abuser, with impulsive behavior and anger-related pathology 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. He exhibits antisocial personality disorder, and being often perceived as charming and intelligent, makes him rather difficult to catch. The anger-excitation rapist may or may not choose his victims selectively. Often sadistic, this type of rapist frequently murders his victim to prevent her or him from identifying him, or for his own self-gratification. Ted Bundy was an example of this type of rapist.

Female rapist and abuser profiles
Court TV's Crime Library lists 6 types of female-male 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 innapropriate sexual contact with children as a result.

Warning signs for potential male rapists
It is very difficult to predict who may or may not be a potential rapist because rapists have many personality types, and use many different methods. However, certain behavioral characteristics have been observed in some rapists. These should be used cautiously as "warning signs", since non-rapists and other innocent people may also exhibit similar behaviours: * Extreme emotional insensitivity and egotism; * Habitual degradation and verbal devaluation of others; * Tries to tell others what they are feeling and thinking, as though it is his or her decision and not theirs. ''"S/he said no, but s/he meant yes"''; * Consistently using intimidation in language, or threatening behavior to get his way. Uses words like "bitch" and "whore" to describe women; * Excessive, chronic, or brooding anger; * Becoming obsessed with the object of his or her romantic affections, long after his or her advances have been rejected; * Extreme mood swings; * Violent outbursts; lack of impulse control; * Aggressive and violent; * Cruel behavior, especially under the influence of ethanol alcohol or drugs. Scientific research does not support the assumption that rape fantasies are warning signs of a potential rapist. While rapists were almost invariably found to have rape fantasies, they were a very small minority compared to a far larger number of psychologically healthy and normal men who had rape fantasies but did not commit rape.

Warning signs for potential female rapists
{{cleanup-date|March 2006}} 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.

Reporting

Underreporting
According to the 1999 United States National Crime Victimization Survey, only 39% of rapes and sexual assaults were reported to law enforcement officials. For male rape, less than 10% are believed to be reported. The most common reasons given by victims for not reporting rapes are the belief that it is a personal or private matter, and that they fear reprisal from the assailant. [http://www.vaw.umn.edu/documents/college/college.txt Fisher] found that: : "... many women do not characterize their sexual victimizations as a crime for a number of reasons (such as embarrassment, not clearly understanding the legal definition of rape, or not wanting to define someone they know who victimized them as a 'rapist') or because they blame themselves for their sexual assault." Rape-related advocacy groups have suggested several tactics to encourage the reporting of sexual assaults, most of which aim at lessening the psychological trauma, often suffered by rape victims following their assault. Many police departments now assign female police officers to deal with rape cases. Advocacy groups also argue for the preservation of the victim's privacy during the legal process; it is standard practice among mainstream American news media not to divulge the names of alleged rape victims in news reports. Psychologists who research female-male, and female-female rape suggest that significant under-reporting of these crimes is occurring. They suggest that the double standards in perception that exist between male and female rape, the taboo nature (see incest) of some female rapes, and the lack of rapist-gender reporting in many jurisdictions contribute to this alleged under reporting in the United States. Canadian researcher, Linda Halliday-Sumner suggests from the slowing emerging information about female sex crimes, that women commit about one third (or about 33%) of all sexual offenses. However, she notes that in Canada, just 19 of 4545 (or just 0.4%) of federal prisoners ''convicted'' of sex offenses were women in 1997.

Overreporting and false reporting
A 1997 article in the Columbia Journalism Review dealing with the debate surrounding false reporting, noted that wildly different figures, from 2% to 85% of all rape reports, have been presented: :"... one explanation for such a wide range in the statistics might simply be that they come from different studies of different populations... But there's also a strong political tilt to the debate. A low number would undercut a belief about rape as being as old as the story of Joseph and Potiphar's wife: that some women, out of shame or vengeance ... claim that their consensual encounters or rebuffed advances were rapes. If the number is high, on the other hand, advocates for women who have been raped worry it may also taint the credibility of the genuine victims of sexual assault." [http://archives.cjr.org/year/97/6/rape.asp] In 1994, Dr. Eugene J. Kanin of Purdue University investigated the incidences, in one small Urban area urban community, of false rape allegations made to the police between 1978 and 1987. The falseness of the allegations was not decided by the police, or by Dr. Kanin; they were "... declared false only because the complainant admitted they are false." The number of false rape allegations in the studied period was 45; this was 41% of the 109 total complaints filed in this period. In Dr. Kanin's research, the complainants who made false allegations did so (by their own statements during recantation) for three major reasons: *providing an alibi; * a means of gaining revenge; and/or * a platform for seeking attention/sympathy. Dr. Kanin's small study is widely reported and quoted. In her work, "The Legacy of the Prompt Complaint Requirement, Corroboration Requirement, and Cautionary Instructions on Campus Sexual Assault", Michelle J. Anderson of the Villanova University School of Law states: "As a scientific matter, the frequency of false rape complaints to police or other legal authorities remains unknown" [http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=555884]. The FBI's 1996 Uniform Crime Reports Uniform Crime Report states that 8% of reports of forcible rape were determined to be unfounded upon investigation [http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/Cius_97/96CRIME/96crime2.pdf]. {{seealso|Gary Dotson}}

Sociobiological analysis of rape
{{main|Sociobiological theories of rape}} Some animals appear to exhibit behaviors which 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. Some sociobiology 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 reproduction 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 attempt by the male of the species to increase his reproductive fitness when he is lacking in ability to persuade the female by non-violent means (Thornhill & Thornhill, 1983). Such sociobiological theories, regarding rape as adaptation adaptive, are highly controversial, and are not accepted by all mainstream scientists. Camile Paglia and some sociobiology sociobiologists have argued that victim-blaming should not be totally dismissed in all cases, since some sociology sociological models suggest that it may be genetics genetically-inbuilt for a certain proportion of men and women to act in ways which 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", claims that rape is not only not an evolutionary benefit to the rapist, but that it is strongly maladaptive, and therefore selected against.

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", come in many forms, sexual assault, and the resulting psychological traumas, being one of the most explicit forms. Many sexual assault survivors suffer from eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia, which also center around control issues. In some ways, therefore, it makes more sense to look at the issue of sexual assault as an invasion of privacy: : "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…" (Mclean, D. 1995) 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.

Quotes
The Supreme Court of California had this to say on a case involving a woman who was raped by a police officer: : "Along with other forms of sexual assault, it belongs to that class of indignities against the person that cannot ever be fully righted, and that diminishes all humanity." :: ''[http://login.findlaw.com/scripts/callaw?dest=ca/cal3d/54/202.html Mary M. v. City of Los Angeles]'' 54 Cal.3d 202,222 (1991) [285 Cal.Rptr. 99; 814 P.2d 1341] One Supreme Court of the United States opinion included: : "We do not discount the seriousness of rape as a crime. It is highly reprehensible, both in a moral sense and in its almost total contempt for the personal integrity and autonomy of the female victim and for the latter's privilege of choosing those with whom intimate relationships are to be established. Short of homicide, it is the "ultimate violation of self." It is also a violent crime because it normally involves force, or the threat of force or intimidation, to overcome the will and the capacity of the victim to resist. Rape is very often accompanied by physical injury to the female and can also inflict mental and psychological damage. Because it undermines the community's sense of security, there is public injury as well." :: ''[http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?navby=case&court=us&vol=433&page=584 Coker v. Georgia]'' 433 U.S. 584 at 597-598 (1977) [53 L.Ed.2d 982, 97 S.Ct. 2861] (plur. opn. of White, J.; conc. and dis. opn. of Powell, J.) Researcher Metzger wrote: : "Rape is loss. Like death, it is best treated with a period of mourning and grief. We should develop social ceremonies for rape, rituals, that, like funerals and wakes, would allow the mourners to recover the spirits that the rapist, like death, steals. The social community is the appropriate center for the restoration of spirit, but the rape victim is usually shamed into silence or self-imposed isolation." (Metzger, D. (1976). "It is always the woman who is raped." American Journal of Psychiatry, 133 (4), 405-408)

References

See also
* Rape on college campuses * Aggression * Femicide * Incest * Sexual harassment * Sydney gang rapes * trafficking in human beings * rape culture * rape pornography * anti-rape female condom * There is an ongoing problem with sexual assault in the U.S. military which has resulted in a series of scandals which have received extensive media coverage. ** Tailhook scandal *
- Assaults on trainees at Aberdeen, MD, 1996 ** Air Force Academy sexual assault scandal * Rape and Native Americans

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 '''Secondary victimization and victim blame''' * 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. * '''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. '''Male survivors''' * 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. * Susan Brownmiller 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 0440226198, (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 0316096199 (author recounts her own rape at the age of 18)

External links

Rape reporting: definitions, sources and statistics

- ''Rape Statistics Not Crystal Clear''
- ''Group Says FBI Report Overlooks Prison Rape Statistics''
- ''Child Sexual Abuse, Real and Unreal''

Research Resources on Sexual Assault and Rape

- US Department of Justice: Incident-Based Statistics (new, non-uniform and incomplete)
- FBI's Uniform Crime Reports (non-uniform sources and discriminates against male rape victims)
- RAINN - The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network
- Dispatches from the Front Lines
- Rape Crisis Information Pathfinder - Find journal articles, statistics and online resources on rape and sexual assault. Includes male survivor information
- AARDVARC: An Abuse, Rape, and Domestic Violence Aid and Resource Collection - includes male survivor information
- National Criminal Justice Reference Service article database
- Sexual Violence Facts from the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control
- Probability statistics compiled by NCPA from US Department of Justice statistics
- The History of Rape: A Bibliography
- Male Survivor: Overcoming Sexual Victimization of Boys and Men
- MenWeb: Male Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse
- Sexual Violence Research Initiative

Message Boards for Rape Survivors

- A directory of message boards for rape survivors
- Pandora's Aquarium - Message board for victims of sexual assault which has a male survivor forum
- Beneath My Facade - a message board for survivors of rape, sexual abuse, domestic abuse & dissociative identity disorder
- Support group for male survivors from Hope for Healing (a faith based group)
- Male Survivor has a support board

Marital/Intimate Partner Rape Links

- Aphrodite Wounded
- About.com Marital Rape
- "Just Keeping the Peace" 2004 Study on Intimate Partner Rape
- National Clearinghouse on Marital and Date Rape
- StopVAW Intimate Partner Sexual Assault Page
- Hidden Hurt
- For better or worse: the case of marital rape

Female-female rape links

- Mother-Daughter Sexual Abuse: A Painful Topic
- Lesbian Sexual Assault, Rape and LGBTQ Domestic Violence
- LGBTQ DV hotline is 1-617-423-7233 and the Gay & Lesbian National Hotline is 1-888-THE-GLNH
- The Survivor Project
- The Northwest Network
- Gay resources from aardvarc
- Female-Female Abuse

Male-male and female-male rape links

- Inside the Mind of a Female Sex Offender
- Take Care of Your Mother - Or Else
- Revenge: A Dish Best Served Cold
- Male Survivor - Overcoming Sexual Victimization Of Boys and Men
- Male Sexual Abuse Victims of Female Perpetrators: Society's Betrayal of Boys
- Female Sexual Offenders
- Female Sex Offenders
- Male sexual assault survivors

LGBTQ

- LGBTQ and lesbian sexual assault resources

Double Standards

- Our Endangered Species; A Hard Look at How We Treat Children
- Double Standard: The Bias Against Male Victims of Sexual Abuse
- The Incest Loophole
- Abuse Cases Face Double Standard
- Sexual Assault of Children by Females
- Bullying in the Family
- Articles on Sexual Abuse Steoreotypes

Victim Blame

- Victim Blame: A Bibliography
- "The Legal Bias Against Rape Victims (The Rape of Mr. Smith)" - excerpt from an April 1975 American Bar Association Journal article
- Secondary victimization
- Hate crimes against RTS disability
- False Rape Allegations by Dr. Eugene Kanin
- Findlaw article on false rape allegations

Women's Awareness Raising

- The New Mythology of Rape: Politicizing Women's Pain
- The invisible community
- Women's week activities - awareness raising
- The Vagina Monologues

Emerging Research Topics

- Eroticized Rage and Other Sexualized Feelings
- Women Who Rape
- Articles on Female Sexual Offenders
- Sibling Sexual Abuse: An Emerging Awareness of an Ignored Childhood Trauma

Diversity

- Cultural Diversity
- Stop Prisoner Rape
- Drink spiking - a reality or urban myth?
- Research on the link between eating disorders and sexual assault
- Police and law enforcement training manuals for sexual assault, rape and domestic violence
- College and fraternity rape
- British Sexual Offences Act 2003
- BBC - Sex trade's reliance on forced labour Category:Sex crimes Category:Torture Category:Women's rights cs:Znásilnění da:Voldtægt