Rape in Our Society

1072 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Rape and its effect

What do rapists earn from raping someone? Is it the pleasure of seeing someone in pain or fear? Is it pleasure from their screams or tears? All I know is that rape is beyond immoral, it is a crime. This crime makes the world cold and scary and ruins the lives of the victims. There are a few different types of rape, yet they all have the same effects on the victims. As often as this occurs in the world we live in today, rape is the easiest charge to make yet the most difficult to prove.

“At least five rapes have been reported in Clarksville in the last six months. Although many of the cases have suspects listed, there have been arrests made in only one case (Thacker).” This is potentially enough time for the rapist, who has not been found yet, to rape a frightening number of other women. “The International Committee of the Red Cross, the US, France, Italy and the Organization of the Islamic Conference have all pushed for the inclusion of rape as an international law violation, either under new interpretations of existing humanitarian laws or under newly-proposed agreements making it such (Meron).” A crime such as rape is very common. Every two minutes, somewhere in the world, someone is sexually assaulted. Of these approximately 248,000 victims, about 87,000 were victims of completed rape, and 70,000 were victims of sexual assault. Up to 4,315 pregnancies may have resulted from these attacks (National Crime Victimization Survey). “…38.5 percent of rapes and sexual assaults were reported to the police (Rape is a Serious Problem for Women).” That means that with these numbers, many are still unreported. “Many psychologists view rape as an act of anger and aggression, rather than an act of sexual desire (Rape).” Rapist...

... middle of paper ...

...ewpoints in Context. Web.

22 Sep. 2011. < http://www.pierce.ctc.edu >.

“National Crime Victimization Survey.” Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Branch. United Nations

World Crime Surveys: Fifth Survey, 1990-1994. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for

Political and Social Research, 2003. Web. 22 Sep 2011. < http://www.icpsr.umich.edu >.

O’Reilly, Sandra. “Sandra O’Reilly Quotes.” Think Exist 2011. 22 Sep 2011. < http://thinkexist.com >.

"Rape." Current Issues: Macmillian Social Science Library. Detroit: Gale, 2010. Gale Opposing

Viewpoints in Context. Web. 22 Sep 2011. < http://www.pierce.ctc.edu >.

Thacker, Matt. “Rape Cases Prove Difficult to Prosecute.” News and Tribune, 8 June 2008. Web. 29 Sep

2011. .

“Types of Rape.” Copyright 2011. Web. 22 Sep 2011. < http://www.crisisinterventioncenter.org >.

Show More
Related

  • Rape In Missoula, By John Krakauer

    1150 Words  | 3 Pages

    Rape is a hidden epidemic that affects many lives world wide. It is a problem that is so terrifying and uncomfortable that people do not talk about it. John Krakauer, author of Missoula, focuses on this issue of rape in the college town of Missoula, Montana. His focus is specifically on the case of Allison Huguet and Beau Donaldson. As the progression of Allison 's case continues we learn of more and more rape cases that happened to women on this same campus. A majority of women do not report these cases, we later learn as Krakauer continues through Allison 's case, because reporting and pursuing the case would be giving their life away. [4] Of course Allison decides to go through the trails of Beau Donaldson, however it is obvious that it is extremely difficult to convict someone with little evidence. As hard of a read as Missoula

    Read More

  • The Role of Gender and Ethnicity in Perceptions of Rape and Its Aftereffects by L Schneide

    1573 Words  | 4 Pages

    An Elderly woman, normally a target in an unsafe neighborhood, carries a satchel of cash. It is the receipt of today's betting and the neighborhood knows robbing her would result in punishment that would be swift and certain, unlike the legal system. The retaliation preserves the mob's reputation and honor. The threat precludes an attack in the first place.

    Read More

  • Rape - The Plague of the Modern World

    2187 Words  | 5 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Rape Culture

    1619 Words  | 4 Pages

    Rape is non-consensual sexual intercourse that a male performs against a woman whom he is neither married to or cohabiting with. The definition of rape changes by geographic location. In some countries a woman must prove she is pure in order to find the perpetrator guilty. Rape used to be more of a violation to the man than to the women. It was a violation of the man’s rights if his wife or girlfriend was raped. When a woman is raped her devotion to her family is questioned. Rape is a violent act, an act of possession, not a sexual act. The myth that men who rape women are sexually pathological has begun to be dispelled and replaced with an understanding that rape is an act of anger, power and control rather than lust.

    Read More

  • Addressing Sexual Assault Prevalence on College Campuses

    1007 Words  | 3 Pages

    Sexual assault is defined as any type of sexual contact or behavior that occurs without the explicit consent of the recipient. Falling under the definition of sexual assault are sexual activities as forced sexual intercourse, forcible sodomy, child molestation, incest, fondling, and In the United States 80% of sexual assault victims are under the age of 30. Of that 80%, 44% are under the age of 18 (RAINN, 2016). That leaves 36% of victims between the ages of 18 and 30. These percentages become even more alarming when that 80% is of about 293,000 victims of secual assualt each year (RAINN, 2016). It is estimated that 1 in every 6 women in the US has been or will be victims of sexual assault in their lifetime. The risks of sexual assault increase on college campuses. Women ages 18-24 who are enrolled in college are 3 times more likely than women in general to suffer from sexual violence (RAINN, 2016). One would think that with all these women being sexually assaulted, one would hear more about it, or perhaps the police stations would constantly be busy. This is not the case. Sexual assault is one of the most unreported crimes, with 68% still being left unreported (RAINN, 2016). This could be because of every 100 rapists, only 2 will spend a day in jail. Of the 32 out of 100 that would be reported, only 7 are referred to an arrest (RAINN, 2016). Why would men or women want to report sexual assault when the system that is supposed to protect them fails so often, and why does this system continue to fail?

    Read More

  • Rape As A Deviant Behavior

    1291 Words  | 3 Pages

    Deviant behavior is defined as a behavior or action that is against the social norms of society. Rape is a deviant behavior that is a type of sexual assaults that usually involving sexual intercourse. This happens when one person or more initiates sexual acts against another person without that person's consent. The act can be sometimes carried out by physical force, coercion, or a person not being able to give valid consent. Someone who is unconscious, incapacitated, or below the legal age of consent would fall under that category. The term rape is sometimes used interchangeably with the term sexual assault. According to R.A.I.N (Rape, Abuse and Incet National Network, 2009) 44% of rape victims are under age 18 and 80% are under age 30. It is sad to report that every 2 minutes another American is assaulted which leaves an average of 237,868 victims, age 12 or older of sexual assault each year (R.A.I.N 2009). So who is to blame for this growing problem? It would be surprising to hear that many times people blame the victims. This is a growing concern for us all because it has led to a tremendous amount of unreported incidents which leads to the perpetrator roaming the streets waiting to strike again. Rape can lead to have severe traumatization and victim can suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder along with causing psychological harm and has been shown to cause physical injury, or have additional effects on the victim, such as acquiring of a sexually transmitted infection or becoming pregnant. Sadly following a rape, a victim may face violence or threats thereafter from the rapist.

    Read More

  • Rape: A Bigger Danger Than Feminist Know Analysis

    1862 Words  | 4 Pages

    Camille Paglia a thrilling humanities professor at Philadelphia University of the Arts. Known for her controversial books and essays wrote a selection for the New York News Day in 1991 titled, Rape: A Bigger Danger Than Feminist Know (578). In this selection Pagila takes a stance on rape and who is really to blame for it. Paglia’s thesis, which states “ Feminism keeps saying the sexes are the same. It keeps telling women they can do anything, go anywhere, say anything, wear anything. No, they cant. Women will always be in danger” (579).

    Read More

  • Rape Culture: How Society Reacts to Rape

    1011 Words  | 3 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Harsher Punishments for Sexual Offenders

    1786 Words  | 4 Pages

    Physical damage from rape often occurs in the form of bruises and cuts from the attacker as well as through sexually transmitted diseases. Mental damage however, is normally more substantial. Victims will often blame themselves for what happened (“James R. Snell Jr.”). On average, a sex offender spends between five and eleven years in jail. Upon release from prison, a sex offender is more than ten times more likely to commit another sex related crime than someone who has committed another...

    Read More

  • Explanation of Rape

    708 Words  | 2 Pages

    Traditional or common knowledge views of rape portray the act as something a crazy stranger commits on another stranger. However, this is simply not the case. The vast majority of rapes, sometimes up to 70%, involve a victim who was previously known to the offender (Woods and Porter 2008). The data does not totally support this view, however. This is because only an estimated 18% of acquaintance rape is reported to the police (Woods and Porter 2008). For comparative purposes, an estimated 79% of stranger rape is reported. Research suggests that each type of forcible rape has a more frequent setting (Woods and Porter 2008). When a rape happens indoors, the victim is more likely to have had a close personal relationship with the offender (Woods and Porter 2008). In fact, the rape usually occurs in either the offender’s or victim’s home (Woods and Porter 2008). The National Institute of Justice reports that women are raped dramatically more than men are; 18% of women report being raped at least once in their life, in contrast to just the 3% of men who report being raped in their lifetime (Tjaden and Thoennes 2006). Of minority groups, 34% of American-Indian women report being raped in their lifetime, the highest percentage of any group; the lowest percentage is Pacific Islander women, of whom only 7% report being raped in their lifetime (Tjaden and Thoennes 2006). The data suggests that rape occurs at an early age. Nearly a quarter of female rape victims and nearly one half of male rape victims were younger than 12 years old when first raped (Tjaden and Thoennes 2006). The percent of victims first raped when younger than 18 years of age is nearly three quarters for men and over half for women (Tjaden and Thoennes 2006). “Women who w...

    Read More

  • Sociological Perspectives On Rape And Domestic Violence

    566 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Rape and Sexual Violence

    957 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.")

    Read More

  • Abortions Should Be Allowed For Rape Victims

    1042 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Rape and Sexual Violence Are Serious Problems.” Opposing Viewpoints in Context. 2008. Web. 24 Jan. 2014.

    Read More

  • Rape Culture In America

    1137 Words  | 3 Pages

    There are 195 countries in the world and America ranks 14th when it comes to the reported rape incidence rate. Why? Easy. Two words: rape culture. America has promoted rape culture by creating an environment in which rape is normalized and excused. We see it in our social media, pop culture, and political figures. Although it more commonly affects female victims, this does not exclude male victims. We perpetuate rape culture in our society through misogyny, victim blaming, and the lack of action taken.

    Read More

  • Rape: A Living Nightmare

    3121 Words  | 7 Pages

    The society we live in is rape-conducive, rape-friendly, if you will. Despite the anger I feel joining those two words together, I know the sad paradox holds within it a great deal of truth. We are a violent society that has shrouded rape in mystery and shame. To stop this nightmare’s venomous crusades, all people must wage a private war to eradicate their own acceptance of the savage crime. While it is only a minority of men that actually commit rape, it is everyone’s silence that tells them it’s ok.

    Read More

More about Rape in Our Society

Open Document