Sociological Perspectives On Rape And Domestic Violence

3. Many sociologist understand that rape and domestic violence is about power. I would have to agree with them. When one thinks about rape or domestic violence then they tend to think that the abuser had power over the victim.

In the case of rape we view the abuser as the person who instigated the rape. This would typically mean that they would be on top during intercourse. Typically when the abuser rapes the victim they do it to show that they have power over that person. When we look at a Serial Rapists we see that they pick their victims as ones who are alone and do not seem to have much strength. They go for the most vulnerable targets. In crime shows it talks about how they do it to show that they can score that many times they have sex, or to show that women cannot control them. Often times serial rapists do it because they are not healthy, but not always. When we look at other forms of rape it is typically to show the person that they are raping that they have power over their victims. Once a person is raped they feel like all of their power has been washed away from them. They feel powerless and violated. So when we look at rape we see power come into play in many different forms.

When we look at domestic violence in accordance to power we seem to look at the abuser first. When we look at the abuser in these types of situations we see that the abuser has all the power in the situation. The make all the decisions in the house hold, and control most things. They force dominance over their victim and so ultimate control and power over the victims. Similar to how a lion shows power, control, and dominance over a gazelle. They have to be in control of the ones that they want to eat (in the case of the lion) or abuse, because if they do not then they will not be able to abuse or eat