Rape: Looking Beyond Sexua Desire Essay, Research Paper

Although there are many underlying motives behind why a man would rape, three of the most conspicuous are anger, power, and sadistic purposes. When an average person hears of a rape, he frequently assumes the offender was reacting to sexual frustration or that he was a demented sex-fiend harboring insatiable and perverted lasciviousness. The rape offender is often accused of being primarily motivated by sexual desires, and by committing the act of forced assault, he is gratifying only his sexual needs. On the contrary, according to A. Nicholas Groth and H. Jean Birnbaum, “Careful clinical study of offenders reveals that rape is in fact serving primarily nonsexual needs. It is the sexual expression of power and anger” (2). No matter what induces these crimes, without a doubt, the only factor they share is rape. However, the influences and circumstances which effectuate rape are as varied and defined as each individual act. Awareness and a conscious effort on the part of all people may not stop rape; nevertheless, through understanding why a man would rape and learning how to recognize the contributing factors, we as a society may be able to prevent some such attacks.

Most people accept one of the most commonly held opinions when referring to this type of forced assault; men rape to gain power and strength over women. A man rapes with the desire to promote his status in society, while at the same time, robbing the female victim, through her body, of her strength and self-esteem. Although not the sole reason, the need to display power tends to be the most significant underlying factor in a large number of the rapes occurring in today’s society. A man who commits a “power rape” does so by means of force or fear. The act is an attempt to frighten and intimidate the victim into submission; he may accomplish this through use of a verbal threat such as, “Do what I say and you won’t get hurt!” Furthermore, the use of a weapon is common: for instance, he might put a knife to her throat; that combined with an order to comply heightens the fear sought by the rapist. The power rapist attempts to compensate for his perceived inadequacies, such as lack of power, control, identity, and authority through the act of rape; he strives to create a situation which will counterbalance these shortfalls. Groth explains, “The intent of the offender is to achieve sexual intercourse with his victim as evidence of conquest, and to accomplish this, he resorts to whatever force he finds necessary to overcome his victim’s resistance and to render her helpless” (26). Typically, the power rapist feels insecure about his masculinity or conflicted about his self-perception; hence the assault by way of force and/or fear is a reaffirmation of his identity.

Unlike the power rapist, who uses force and fear to perpetrate the act of rape, the anger rapist avoids the utilization of fear and focuses on the actual use of force, rather excessive force, to accomplish his goal. His intention, though not often understood, is not to engage in sexual relations; rather, his aim is to express his anger using sex as the chosen weapon. Groth explains, “The anger rapist typically finds little or no gratification in the rape – - in fact, his subjective reaction to the sexual act itself is frequently one of revulsion and disgust” (15). Just as a knife can cut, causing pain and lasting scars, the rapist sees sexual assault as a way to intentionally inflict the most excessive pain possible upon his victim. When the rapist begins to feel out of control and his anger is erupting, he will attack any female who is available. Two common methods an anger rapist utilizes to gain access to his victim are first, a blitz style, catching the victim completely off guard with a violent, sudden, physically brutal surprise attack or second, a friendly, confidence-style approach to persuade the victim of his pleasant demeanor, then hurl a sudden, overpowering attack; without warning he becomes cruel and angry.

In contrast to the anger rapist and in fact, the least common of the aforementioned types of rape, the sadistic rape is fully premeditated. The sadist stalks, abducts, abuses, or sometimes murders his victim. This offender is not known to be bursting with sudden rage, although after capturing his victim he works himself into a frenzy as he assaults her. Groth states, “There is a sexual transformation of anger and power so that aggression itself becomes eroticized” (44). The sadistic rapist is gratified by the suffering of his victims. He combines the causations of the power rapist and the anger rapist and purposely chooses rape as his means of expressing his anger and power, expecting it to be erotic. His actions during each rape will be exact and often ritualistic. He receives pleasure from tormenting his victims, causing them anguish, distress, and a general sense of helplessness. The rapist’s hatred and control of the victim are eroticized, and his specific actions are always prearranged. The offender’s excitement level is directly affected as the intensity of pain increases for the victim. By punishing his victims, the sadistic rapist increases his own pleasure as he often believes he is punishing the representation of someone or something which he feels contempt for. Groth points out,

Because of the ritualistic and potentially lethal nature of his offenses, the sadistic

rapist is often believed to be blatantly psychotic, but, in fact, he is usually able to

conceal these dark impulses from others. There is a hidden side to his personality

which harbors these forbidden wishes. One of the disconcerting features of such offenders is that they are often quite personable, an impression in sharp contrast to the expected stereotype of the vicious “sex fiend” and a quality they capitalize on to gain access to unsuspecting victims. (46)

In his own way, Groth describes the sadistic rapist as a sociopath; further, John m. MacDonald, states clearly, “…about half of the thirty rapists in a Canadian penitentiary were sociopathic personalities who showed chronic antisocial behavior. Many of the remaining rapists showed hostile, sadistic attitudes towards women. Some where schizoid personalities, and others were described as inadequate personalities” (56).

After all is said, one thing stands out: men rape as a compensatory and retaliatory act towards women and society. The exact reason different men rape might be as unique as the individual. Through these three different types of rape, men are gaining something they need with no concern for their victim. Members of our society are looking for the answer of why this happens and how to prevent it. Convincingly, MacDonald writes, “Analysis of a rapist would require an exploration into the life experiences of the offender, the circumstances on the date of the offense, the role of the victim as well as the contributions of alcohol, drugs, cultural attitudes and many other factors… There may be no plans and preparations for rape. This crime, like others may occur on the impulses of the moment” (56-57). Unfortunately, there is no easy answer or solution to this heinous crime, or more importantly, a cure for the offender. Incarceration alone is an insufficient means of treatment to prevent an identified offender from repeating his sexual assaults. Members of society must look to medical and behavioral science professionals for help in rehabilitating the offender. Our society is dependent on these professionals to acquire the knowledge to cure the psychological handicaps in the offender that cause him to rape under certain stressful situations. In addition to educating women of all ages that rape can, in fact, happen at any time or any place, we as members of a concerned society need to get involved and become part of the solution before it happens to our daughters.

Groth, Nicholas A., and Jean Birnbaum. Men Who Rape: The Psychology of the

Offender. New York: Plenum Press, 1979.

MacDonald, M.D., John M. Rape: Offenders and Their Victims. Springfield:

Charles C. Thomas, 1971.