The Crime of Forcible Rape

The research analyzes the crime of rape in a theoretical context. While the concept of rape applies to men as victims as well as to women, the overwhelming proportion of rape victims are women. The use of the term "rape" in this research refers to crimes wherein the victim is a female.

Gender and unequal power are factors in the perpetration of rape against women regardless of the society in which the crime is perpetrated. The overwhelming majority of physical violence of all types involves aggressive behavior by men toward women. Less than 10 percent of partner violence in the home, as an example, involves women abusing men. Presumably, socialization plays a role in promoting the concept of unequal power over a submissive partner or dependence carried to the point of abuse. One reason sexual violence is taken for granted by many people is that such behavior is so prevalent. While official statistics reflect a high incidence of rape, these official statistics are thought to reflect only 10 percent of the actual number of rapes that occur in the United States, as an example.

Prior to the 1970s, the focus was on the danger of assault or rape by strangers or acquaintances. Violence in the family was thought to be infrequent and to result from psychopathology in the individuals involved rather than being viewed as a society-wide problem. Societal trends, however, have overcome this perception. Rape laws in the United States have been amended to protect victims of as

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of mental illness, mental retardation, or intoxication. These definitions typically include other types of sexual penetration as well as attempts to commit rape. According to Federal Bureau of Investigation crime reports, 92,486 rapes of women were reported to police in 1988. Law enforcement agents reported 102,555 forcible rapes during 1990, generating 80 rapes per 100,000 American females. In the United States in 1993, 38.6 forcible rapes were reported per each 100,000 inhabitants male and female, adult and child. Estimates based on the National Crime Survey, which includes incidents not necessarily reported to the police, are nearly twice as high. An aggregate of data proposes that rape incidence may be six-to-10 times greater than that measured by the National Crime Survey. Prevalence studies using epidemiologic methods indicate that at least 20 percent of adult women, 15 percent of college women, and 12 percent of adolescent girls have experienced sexual abuse and assault during their lifetimes. Estimates for African American women are even higher. Children are most at risk from assaults by family members and other caretakers, while adolescents and young adult women are most at risk for acquaintance and date rape

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