Rape Essay, Research Paper

Rape has become the fastest growing, most under-reported, and least punished crime in the United States. ?It is legally defined as sexual intercourse by forcible compulsion.? (23) The FBI estimates that only one in ten rapes are ever reported to the police, and of those reported 50% of the rapists are arrested.

Some people think that rape is ?secretly desired,? or the victim ?asked for it.? However, the truth is no women or man ever really asks to be raped. The nature of rape is violence, and not an act of sexual intimacy. (?Myths and Facts about Rape, pg. 1) Another widely held disbelief is that only ?bad girls? (sexually active women) or young beautiful miniskirt wearing women are raped. The fact is there is no such thing as a ?typical rape.? Both men and women are raped by both men and women perpetrators. Victims, ages ranged from two months to ninety-seven years. Many people believe that only women can be raped, but the truth is that almost as many boys as girls are sexually abused before they reach the age of eighteen. One is six males will be sexually victimized in his lifetime. Most of the rapists who rape men are other men. Studies indicate that 98% of men are heterosexual. ?The rapist attempts to demonstrate his power of masculinity by contempt for anyone he wants to consider weaker than himself. (?Myths and Facts?)

The statistics concerning rape show that its occurrence is frequently and violent. One statistic states that rape occurs approximately once every four minutes. (Jaffe 10) It is also freighting to discover that ?about 67% of all rapists are known by their victims in some way, only 33% are complete strangers. (Jaffe 10) Contrary to what some might believe ?93% of rapists assault women of their same race. (Jaffe11) Statistics also show that college women are at high risk. In fact statistics show that ?approximately one in four college women have been raped or will be raped.? (Jaffe 11) In a study by Mary Koss on college campuses, 13% of men admitted to using violence to obtain sex. 27% used lesser degrees of physical and emotional force when their partner was unwilling to have sex with them. Even when you are married, one can be raped by their husbands. Jaffe explains that 10-14% of all married women has been raped by their husbands.

There is no such thing as a safe place, because 20% of rapes occur outdoors, nearly 50% of rapes happen in the home of the victim or the rapist, and about 18% occur in cars. One of every four rapes takes place in a public area. Women are raped by their husbands or boyfriends 28%, 35% by acquaintances, 5% by other relatives. 68% of rape victims knew their assailant. Not everyone is hurt when they are raped, but 75% of the time, the females require medical care after the attack. According to the Justice Department, ?one if two rape victims is under eighteen, one in six is under twelve.? Teens were three and one-half more times likely than the general population to be victims of rape, attempted rape or sexual assault

In some societies of the world it is considered a serious crime, although not always for the same reason. Talmudic law makes little distinction between seduction and rape. (?Rape? 5,362) It is a violation of a women?s virginity. In many African tribes it is fined because it is considered a violation of property rights, the women belonging to a father or a husband.

No women are ever really safe. Rape occurs in all ages and races. Anyone can be raped, even married women can be raped by their husbands. Rape is a violent act, not a sexual one, where the victim often requires medical attention and counseling. Many myths are circulating about rape that are not true. People need to learn the truth about rape. It should be known that they to could be victims of this horrid criminal act.