Rape Culture
Rape culture
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, 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 in power positions, and women are seen as passive. This socialization process is changing, but slowly.
Rape is a forced sexual intercourse against the will of the victim (Parrot, 1988). Rape is a violent act, 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.
Rape is not a very pleasant subject. When people think about rape, they usually think of a stranger with a knife hiding in the bushes. He waits for a woman to walk by and then attacks. But that is not the only kind of rape. The majority of victims are raped by individuals they know or who are acquaintances. This rape is known as "acquaintance rape." Eighty percent of all rapes are, in fact, acquaintance rapes. One kind of acquaintance rape is called "date rape." This kind of rape happens when a man and a woman go out on a date together. The man forces the woman to have sex with him when she does not want to.
Rape can happen to anyone. Women from different cultures, races, ages, and economic level are all vulnerable. So no matter who you are or where you live. Most rape, and specifically most acquaintance rape, happens between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five. This is the time when young women are most likely to date and therefore are most vulnerable to date rape. Acquaintance rape is not limited to dating situations. It may be committed by friends of the family, employers, friends, past boyfriends, and even
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, 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 in power positions, and women are seen as passive. This socialization process is changing, but slowly.
Rape is a forced sexual intercourse against the will of the victim (Parrot, 1988). Rape is a violent act, 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.
Rape is not a very pleasant subject. When people think about rape, they usually think of a stranger with a knife hiding in the bushes. He waits for a woman to walk by and then attacks. But that is not the only kind of rape. The majority of victims are raped by individuals they know or who are acquaintances. This rape is known as "acquaintance rape." Eighty percent of all rapes are, in fact, acquaintance rapes. One kind of acquaintance rape is called "date rape." This kind of rape happens when a man and a woman go out on a date together. The man forces the woman to have sex with him when she does not want to.
Rape can happen to anyone. Women from different cultures, races, ages, and economic level are all vulnerable. So no matter who you are or where you live. Most rape, and specifically most acquaintance rape, happens between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five. This is the time when young women are most likely to date and therefore are most vulnerable to date rape. Acquaintance rape is not limited to dating situations. It may be committed by friends of the family, employers, friends, past boyfriends, and even