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Sociological principles of rape
Sociological principles of rape
Sociological principles of rape
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*Why rape?*
The Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN) (2009) is the “The nation's largest anti-sexual violence organization.” According to this accredited anti-sexual violence charity, every two minutes someone in the United States is sexually assaulted. Furthermore, they report that approximately 1 in every 6 women has been the victim of an attempted or completed sexual assault. In 2003, 9 out of every 10 rape victims were female (RAINN). The statistics speak for themselves and support the theory that sexual assault is a prevalent issue in the United States. What the statistics do not examine is the reason sexual assault occurs. Moreover, the statistics fail to explain why women are most often the victims of these sexual assaults. This paper will attempt to uncover the truth behind the numbers, by examining research and theories on why professionals believe sexual assault occurs.
While several theorists have presented their understanding of the motivations for rape, no one theory has been solely acknowledged as the correct answer. Understanding sexual assault is a complex issue and may be explained by a variety of factors that play parts in the greater whole. It is a collaboration of institutional and socialized norms that discriminate against women and the characteristics they are associated with. As Marilyn Frye (1983) discussed in her book The Politics of Reality, the oppression of women, like the oppression of many other minority groups can be described as a birdcage. It is her assertion that, when one is close to the cage, each wire stands as an individual hindrance and can simply be dodged, but if one is to back away from the wire and see the cage fully, the collection of the wires is the force whi...
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...seems as though both men and women should increase their education on the topic and reflect on how they can personally contribute to changing the way women are viewed in America.
References
Frye, M. (1983). The politics of reality: essays in feminist theory. Trumansburg, N.Y.:
Crossing Press.
King, N. (2003). Knowing Women: Straight Men and Sexual Certainty. Gender and
Society, 17(6), 861-877. Retrieved March 25, 2012, from the JSTOR database.
Pearson, A. (2000). Rape Culture: Media and Message. Off Our Backs,30(8), 13-14.
Retrieved March 25, 2012, from the JSTOR database.
Statistics. RAINN. Retrieved March 25, 2012, from http://www.rainn.org/statistics
Whaley, R. B. (2001). The Paradoxical Relationship between Gender Inequality and
Rape: Toward a Refined Theory. Gender and Society,15(4), 531-555. Retrieved March 25, 2012, from the JSTOR database.
Schneider L, Mori L, Lambert P, Wong A. The Role of Gender and Ethnicity in Perceptions of Rape and Its Aftereffects. Sex Roles [serial on the Internet]. (2009, Mar), [cited March 16, 2014]; 60(5/6): 410-421. Available from: SocINDEX with Full Text.
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.
Eileraas, Karina. "Rape, Legal Definitions of." Encyclopedia of Women in Today's World. Ed. Mary Zeiss Stange, Carol K. Oyster, and Jane E. Sloan. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, 2011. 1205-09. SAGE Reference Online. Web. 4 Apr. 2012.
90 percent of the victims of sexual assault are women and 10 percent are men, and nearly 99 percent of offenders in single-victim assaults are men (Bureau of Justice Statistics 2010). According to https://www.justice.gov/ovw/sexual-assault, Sexual assault is 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 attempted rape. () Sexual Assault can happen to anyone, not just women it can happen to men and kids as well. Sexual Assault these days are a big trouble and it is not being addressed in good order, and it is
One of the most horrible things that has erupted from the subjugation of women is rape culture. Rape culture is the downplaying of the crime of rape to appease the violator, the accusation that the victim made a choice that led to their rape, or even jokes that suggest rape. According to Jessica Valenti’s, “In Rape Tragedies, the Shame Is Ours,” in today's world many people give in to rape culture by participating in these acts that somehow change our mindsets into believing that, “it is more shameful to be raped than to be a rapist”. Once ...
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.
According to RAINN, (2009) approximately 10 per cent of all victims of sexual assault and abuse are adult and juvenile males. In terms of the nature of assault, real figures include a compendium of reported incidents ranging from unwanted sexual touching to forced penetration. To qualify this statement, it must be understood that the percentage does not reflect a vast number of crimes that go unreported due to issues that will be discussed in the present paper.
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 Feminist theory is based around gender inequalities and the concept of an imbalance of power between men and women and within men themselves. This theory argues that male sexual offenders are like normal men, however they have been conditioned within society and culture that when their masculinity is questioned, this creates a reaction where males sexually assault females to boost their male status within society. The feminist theory highlights how women’s experiences are often based around the struggle of male domination or patriarchy (Moore, 2008, p. 5) in relation to sexual offences. This article links closely with the Feminist Theory as
According to a statement addressing the sexual victimization of college women The Crime and Victimization in America states that, “ One out of four women will be sexually assaulted on a college campus.” This disturbing fact has not minimized throughout the years, instead it is continuing to worsen throughout college campuses. Sexual assault is not an act to be taken lightly. Society must stop pinpointing the individuals who commit these crimes one by one, but rather look at the problem as a whole and begin to understand the main cause of sexual assault and possible methods to reduce these acts of sexual coercion.
It is not a topic that is brought up often, especially at schools or at gatherings, yet it is crucial that everyone be educated, or at least informed on a topic that affects women every day. “Given that sexual violence continues to occur at high rates in the United States, it is vital that we understand attitudes and cultural norms that serve to minimize or foster tolerance of sexual violence” (Aosved, 481). Growing rates of sexual violence goes to prove that it is not taken seriously by many, especially when myths excuse the actions of the perpetrator and instead guilt victims into thinking they are responsible for the horrible act. Burt (1980), in her article titled, “Cultural myths and support for rape” attempts to make sense of the importance of stereotypes and myths, defined as prejudicial, stereotypes, or false beliefs about rape, rape victims and rapists- in creating a climate hostile to rape victims (Burt, 217). Examples of rape myths are such sayings as “only bad girls get raped”; “women ask for it”; “women cry rape” (Burt, 217). This only goes to prove that rape myths against women always blame and make it seem like it is the women’s fault she was raped and that she deserved it for “acting” a certain way. McMahon (2007), in her article titled, “Understanding community-specific rape myths” explains how Lonsway and Fitzgerald (1994) later described rape myths as “attitudes and beliefs that are generally
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...
Webster’s Dictionary describes rape as the crime of forcing another person to submit to sex acts, especially sexual intercourse. Rape is a crime in which most women cannot defend themselves. The fear of rape plagues every woman at some point or another in her life. The traumatic effects of rape vary from mild to severe, from psychological to physical. This paper will evaluate rape, as well as the effects it has on women, the theory behind male dominance and patriarchy, and differences in demographics.
When most people hear the word “rape”, they automatically think of the attacker being a stranger forcing themselves upon another and doing unwanted sexual things to the victim. However, the most common form of rape is called acquaintance rape or date rape. Acquaintance rape is defined as forced or manipulated sexual contact by someone you have met and had interactions with a couple of times (Sarmiento, 2010). According, to American Rape Statistics, approximately 28% of victims are raped by their significant others, 35% by acquaintances, and 5% by other relatives (APR, 2011). Jean Hughes, who has done an abundance of research on acquaintance rape, has found that nearly 60% of all rapes reported have fallen under the label of acquaintance rape. (Hughes & Sandler, 1990). There are many cases of date and acquaintance rape within the college environment. Dr. Stephen Lawyer and his colleagues did research on 134 undergraduate women; they wanted to figure out what percentage of these women experienced rape by force or the use of drugs. They concluded that nearly 26.9%, 93 participants said they had been sexually assaulted at some point in their life since the age of 14. Of this 26.9%, 5.4%, 17 participants reported a total of 28 forcible assault ...
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.