Rape until 2012 was defined as “The carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will.” It was severely lacking was only updated by the Federal Bureau of Instigation in 2012. It left out an entire section of rape that can be committed which is man being the rape victim. This lead to misclassification of rape of males for years. So even the statistics used till 2014 were underwhelming and inaccurate when it was related to male rape or sexual assault. Rape in the United States is now defined by the Department of Justice as “Penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim.” Male Rape or men being the sexual assault victims are rarely ever the subject of a dialogue when Sexual Assault is the topic being discussed because rape is generally seen as a heterosexual highly sexed male attack on vulnerable, attractively dressed female victim. Most rapists have alternative outlets for sexual gratification, many take little notice of their victim 's physical attributes, and some may experience sexual dysfunction during the assault.
Sexual assault of men in history is recognized as a means of humiliating opponents by conquering soldiers especially the Romans. It was used as a feature of sexual torture or aggression. Rape, in this case, is motivated by a wish to dominate and degrade the victim. Man on man rape is usually discussed when the incarceration is the topic due to social media and movies. Although nearly two-thirds of the male jail inmates who had been victimized, said the staff perpetrator was female nevertheless that one-third of rape is still a cause for concern as anal trauma that occurs in male rap...
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...emished that children are more commonly used for prostitution against that their adult counterparts and the average age at which boys first become victims of prostitution is 11 to 13 years’ old.
There are many problems rapes could cause besides the ones highlighted already. 35% of men report significant short-term or long-term impacts such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). A few more would include anxiety, depression, fearfulness, or post-traumatic stress disorder. The thoughts of future occurrences would consume their thoughts as the use excessive precaution that could have a little effect would be taken. The Withdrawal from relationships or friendships and an increased sense of isolation as well as avoiding people or places that are related to the assault or abuse. Despite being the least disclosed crime, it cost the U.S annually more than any other crime.
Rape is a virus that infects every nation, culture and society. It is constantly referred to as “the unfinished murder”, because of the deep state of despair the rapist leaves the victim in. There is no common identifiable trend that determines who will be a rape victim. Women are not assaulted because of their attitudes or actions, they are attacked simply because they are present. With rapists, just as with their victims, there is no identifiable trend. The old myth that only “sick, dirty, old, perverted men” commit rapes is a lie that society tells itself in order to sleep better at night. The startling truth is that most rapists work under a veil of normalcy. In order for the percentage of rapes to decrease, we have to change our ideas about rape and let go of the old myths of the past. And until this happens, rape will continue to plague our world at large.
According to Campus Sexual Assault: Suggested Policies and Procedures “the consequences of sexual assault can be very serious.” This means that it can lead to many outcomes which one could be hospitalization. The effects on sexual assault on a person can be very traumatic and it can be difficult for some people to overcome it. Another concern that they have stated is pregnancy, STD’s and HIV. The reason they are concerned about this which could certainties be a consequence of sexual assault is because not many girls want to go through with this because they were violated and they might not be able to take care of this child well. They might have to worry if they got an STD’s from them because they might as well have a sexual transmitted disease and who knows where this person went. HIV is the biggest consequences because as yet they couldn’t have found a cure and it is not curable at all so they are stuck with HIV for rest of their
Sociological Analysis of Sexual Assault This essay will examine the social and cultural conditions, within the macro-diachronic and micro-synchronic theoretical models, that intensify or perpetuate sexual assault. I have chosen only one concept from each model because these are the only concepts that I feel that I can use to most accurately and comprehensively depict causes and reasons for why sexual assault is deeply entrenched in our social structure. I will thus explore, from these ideological viewpoints, some of the motivations and circumstances that lead offenders to sexual assault. I will also fuse some of the historical attitudes from which today's concepts have evolved into our contemporary understanding of these social phenomena. However, it’s important that we look beyond both offenders' motivations and history, and to the greater sociological view, if we are to correctly reconstruct acts of violence such as sexual assault.
Many of the attitudes, beliefs, and mistaken ideas about rape have been with us for centuries. By looking at myths, such as “women ask for it,” and “it would do some women good to get raped,” from a historical perspective, lead us for better understanding how they evolved. Women are still seen as the property of men, are protected as such. Men and women are still taught to occupy very different roles in today’s world. Men are usually more aggressive, and women are seen as passive. (Vogelman) This socialization process is changing, but slowly.
The trauma of rape can lead to depression and can put victims in a horrible mental state of mind. Symptoms of depression can go unnoticed for long periods of time especially if the victims doesn’t speak out and tell someone. “Symptoms of depression are social withdrawnness, lack of interest in things the victim would normally enjoy, feelings of worthless unexplained irritability, and inability to sleep. After rape or sexual abuse, survivors often find their self-esteem suffers significantly”.(After silence. org) The way victims view themselves and others change significantly after being raped. They may lose their integrity and power to continue a balanced life.
There are many different aspects of the community that is impacted. Places in the community that may be affected include "schools, workplaces, neighborhoods, campuses, and cultural or religious communities may feel fear, anger, or disbelief if a sexual assault happened in their community" ("Effects of Sexual Violence"). The entire community can be torn apart because of the assault. Sexual assault does not only impact the victim, it impacts many different places and people in the community and the assault can tear at the fabric of the communities well-being. There are also other impacts on the community other than the emotional impact. Additionally, the community could be impacted financially. There are many financial costs that are associated with sexual assault, which “include medical and mental health services, legal expenses, lost work time and productivity, theft and damage to property, and the incalculable lost contributions of individuals affected by sexual violence" ("Effects of Sexual Violence"). Along with the financial costs there are also intangible costs such as a decrease in quality of life. All of the costs that are associated with rape could add up to as much as $240,000 for just one sexual assault. The community would be negatively impacted due all of the different costs that are associated with sexual assault. The community is impacted in many different ways by sexual assault drastically along with the
Sexual assault is defined as a type of behaviour that occurs without explicit consent from the recipient and under sexual assault come various categories such as sexual activities as forces sexual intercourse, incest, fondling, attempted rape and more (Justice.gov. 2017). People often become victims of sexual assault by someone they know and trust (Mason & Lodrick, 2013) which is conflicting to the public’s perception and beliefs that offenders are strangers. Women are the main victims for sexual assault and are 5 times more likely to have been a victim of sexual assault from a male (Wright, 2017, p. 93). Men are victims of sexual assault however only 0.7% of men, compared to 3.2% of women, experience some form of sexual assault which highlights how vulnerable women are compared to men. Sexual assault is publicised and exposed in the media, however is often
The US Military has been one of the most powerful and respected fighting forces in the world; it is also a hotbed for sexual assault. Each year, thousands of men and women take an oath to serve and protect their country and each thousands of military service members are sexually assaulted. “Earlier this week, Pentagon officials released a new report which estimated more than 70 sexual assaults occur in the military each day.”(Shane III) Fear of retaliation, both personal and professional, and humiliation stop many service members from reporting their sexual assaults. Those few that make the bold choice to report incidents of sexual assault often finds themselves disappointed by the outcome; assaults that do get reported have an incredibly low rate of conviction of the offender. The US Military has proven over time that they are incapable of effectively dealing with the sexual assault problem that it faces.
Rape is an issue that usually occurs to females and is more likely executed by males than females. Nonetheless, a female’s position in rape can and does go further than being the victim. Considering that women can be the perpetrator in this sexual assault, who are their victims? Rape can occur to anyone by anyone. In the same way a female can be a victim of rape, so can a male. According to RAINN, an anti-sexual assault organization, “About 3% of American men have experienced attempted or completed rape as of 1998, an estimated 4.5 million as of 2010” (Who Are the Victims?). However, men are not necessarily the victims of solely female-on-male rape. In fact, the majority of males who are raped are the victims of male-on-male rape and
Sexual assault is a problem that affects many students in colleges. Sexual assault is defined as “any unwanted contact” (6) performed on “an unwilling victim, without consent” (2). This means anything from touching to completed rape. Without consent means that “vigorous efforts were made to avoid sexual contact” (2). Physical symptoms of sexual assault can tamper with the victim’s quality of life. It can be pelvic pain, migraines, and even disability that can prevent a victim from working. There are over 32,000 pregnancies a year that are a result of completed rape, but problems with pregnancy can also be a result of sexual assault. In addition to these effects, women who experience this assault are more likely to contract sexually transmitted diseases (2).
What do you think and feel when you hear the word rape? Do you feel uncomfortable? Maybe even angry? Your certain feelings and emotions towards this word is a result of rape culture. Rape culture, essentially, is how a society as a whole sees and reacts towards rape or instances of rape. In 2013 rape was defined by the FBI as, “Penetration… of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim.” (Division’s Crime Statistics Management Unit 1). The definition was finally changed after the old definition deemed inappropriate by today’s standards, which beforehand, stated that physical force needed to be used for rape to be considered rape. This is good news for men and women who have been fighting for the definition to be changed, but unfortunately this does not mean that state laws are being changed the same way. Even though the FBI may acknowledge the older inappropriate definition, most states do not. Sexual assault is a commonly unreported crime, where only an average of 36% of sexual abuse is actually reported to the authorities (Planty 7). Some forms of rape can include physical harm, threats, and even death of the victim, and most victims do not want to tell others for fear of criticism, self-blame, or even the fear that their attackers will carry out on their threats. In many cases, victims do have a reason to be afraid. When someone is brave enough to come forward and say they were sexually assaulted, they are putting themselves in the position of being in not only a long legal process, but also having their motives questioned and misunderstood, which is the last thing they want after their experience. The legal system in the United States...
Rape and sexual violence is a very serious problem that affects millions of people each year. Rape is someone taking advantage of another person sexually. Sexual assault can be verbal, physical, visual, or anything that forces a person to join in unwanted sexual contact or attention. ("Sexual Assault.") Rape is one of the most underreported crimes. In 2002, only thirty-nine percent of rapes and sexual assaults were reported to law officials. ("Sexual Violence: Fact Sheet.") Victims sometimes do not report that they have raped because of shame or feeling that it was their fault. It is never the victim's fault. "Victim blaming" is holding the victim of a crime to be in a whole or in partly responsible for what had happened to them. Most victims believe this. ("Myths and Facts about Sexual Violence.")
Many of the attitudes, beliefs, and mistaken ideas about rape have been with us for centuries. By looking at myths, such as “women ask for it,” and “women secretly enjoy rape,” from a historical perspective, can lead us for better understanding how they evolved. Much stems back to the idea that women are still seen as the property of men, and are protected as such. Men and women are still taught to occupy very different roles in today’s world. Men a...
“Rape is a crime that combines sex and violence, that makes sex the weapon in an act of violence.”(Kimmel 257) Because of this, rape is often traumatic for the victim of a rape. Many victims undergo what is known as rape trauma syndrome, “…rape trauma syndrome, consisting of an acute stage, where the primary response is fear, followed by a reorganization stage, characterized by phobias, insomnia, sexual dysfunctions, and major changes in life-style.”(Chandler et al pp. 248) These are some of the psychological side effects that women must endure after the rape. There are also other factors, relating to the individual that effect rape trauma they include, “age, prior sexual experience, ethnicity, and response of significant others to the victim. Factors relating to the sexual assault, such as degree of violence and the relationship between the victim and the assailant also affect trauma.”(Chandler et al pp 249) Overall, is is safe to say that there are many psychological effects of rape that allows women to fear the attack of a rape.
Is anyone truly a stranger to nightmares? Has anyone not woken up in a feverish sweat with a racing pulse or pounding heart? Whose eyes have never wildly searched their room for the phantoms of a dream? Now, what if the familiar consolation of learning it was all in your head never came? How do you wake up from a nightmare that is, in fact, a reality? I think I’m getting ahead of myself. What I mean to say is, I was raped, and rape is a nightmare.