Rape And Sexual Assault And Rape

Seventy-eight percent of victims of women and twenty-two percent are men. Women who are raped before the age of eighteen are twice as likely to be raped again as adults. Victims are at greater risk of rape or sexual assault while intoxicated. ("Sexual Violence: Fact Sh... ... middle of paper ... ...apidly our world today. There are hundreds of places people may go and visit for help or more information about rape and sexual violence.

Rape Webster's New World Dictionary defines rape as "the crime of having sexual intercourse with a person forcibly and without consent". Rape is a problem in modern society because it remains a commonly practiced crime. Despite the severe consequences and the fact that it is morally and ethically wrong, the number of cases are growing. It is assumed that rape has been around since the beginning of time. The only thing that has changed is how society views the crime.

Sexual assault is violence, not sex. Many have spoken about their experience with rape and rape culture. Rape culture is a culture defined as a society that normalizes rape and sexual assault. Rape culture causes many men and women to feel as though they will not receive justice for the rapist’s crime. This is dangerous when a person’s life hangs in the balance.

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.

The frightening reality is that all of the rape studies that have been done show that the perpetrator is usually someone that the victim knows and/or trusts; during the dating years, seventy to ninety percent of rapes are acquaintance or date rapes (Mackey). Even more terrifying is that only one-third of rapes are reported to law enforcement officials (Buddie & Miller). Victims are most likely afraid that by going through with the process of pressing charges on his/her perpetrator that they, in turn, will be blamed using one or more of the ridiculous rape myths, by society. The reality of rape is a startling combination of ignorance relating to rape myths, lack of reportings and convictions, severe post-traumatic feelings of the attack, and theories of rape, both psychological and sociological. Rape is such a difficult crime to prove because it usually comes down to the victim’s word against the perpetrator’s word.

For example, rape generally also consists of sexual intercourse occurring under these conditions: the rapist prevents a victim from resisting by supplying the victim with alcohol or drugs, the rapist poses as a public official and threatens to arrest or deport the victim unless the victim agrees to sexual intercourse, or the rapist knows that the victim has a disorder or disability that prevents the victim from legally consenting to sexual intercourse (Rape and Statutory Rape). Statutory rape refers to sexual relations involving someone below the "age of consent," this means that people below the age of consent cannot legally consent to having sex, so it is considered rape. This means that sex with them, by definition, violates the law (Reuters). The Reason for this law is that someone under the age of 16 is not mature enough to voluntarily consent to intercourse. A minor can be guilty of statutory rape of another minor.

The most common of all rapes is acquaintance rape. This is when the victim knows the individual. Statistics show that eighty percent of all rapes occur in this form. The predators are more often a family member or very close relative and has assaulted the woman or young lady because of convenience. The closeness of the relationship causes the victim to feel alone, isolated, and as if they are to blame.

The first, naïve graspers tend to be young and inexperienced teens and are often awkward when it comes to the opposite sex, they desire affection but have no respect for the victim. Meaning stretchers are the most common and misinterpret a women’s friendliness as them wanting to have sex with the person even when she says no. Sex looters have no respect for their victims and view women as sexual objects, the perpetrator is most often a stranger and as said before stranger related rapes are more likely to be reported to the police. Lastly group conformer, which are gang rapes and is most often used to demonstrate masculinity (Hagan,

Sexual violence is a national issue that permeates every aspect society. Sexual assault and rape is an ongoing problem, evident by the troubling statistic that roughly 20 million out of 112 million women (18.0%) in the United States have been raped during their lifetime (Kilpatrick, Resnick, Ruggiero, Conoscenti, McCauley, 2007). Despite the continuous push for gender equality, the current culture of society perpetuates victim-blaming tendencies towards innate cognitive processes and media influences. Literature Review Cognitive Processes Rape myths. Rape myths are one way sexual violence, namely victim blaming in regards to sexual assault, is perpetuated and maintained in the current social atmosphere.

The man forces the woman to have sex with him when she does not want to. Also called simple rape, which differs from real rape, because real rape involves weapons, violence and attackers. This kind of rape is recognized as rape in courtrooms, where simple rape is dismissed as not real rape and it is more common that the offender will be found not guilty. Rape can happen to anyone. Women from different cultures, races, ages, and economic level are all vulnerable.