Sexual Assault and Child Molestation - Research Paper Example

Sexual Assault and Child Molestation I. What is Sexual Assault?  Sexual assault refers to the behaviour of a person that is sexual in nature which can make another person feel threatened, frightened and uncomfortable. It is a sexual activity made on a person without his consent. Other forces used to engage in sexual activity, e.g., physical or emotional violence, is also considered sexual assault. A. Forcible Rape  Forcible rape is the female’s carnal knowledge by force and against her will. The attempt to or assaults to commit rape through threat or force are included. It excludes statutory rape. As of 2009, reports of forcible rape annually have reached 88,097. Of all the reported rape cases in 2009, 93% were rapes of force (URC). B. Rape by Fraud  Rape by fraud is a form of rape or sexual assault wherein the woman is made to believe that it is her husband whom she has sex with. Rape, as mentioned, is a woman’s the carnal knowledge in the absence of her consent and is obtained by threats, fraud, force, etc. The fraud here should be consist of certain strategies by which the woman is made to believe that the offender is her spouse (Lee v. State, 1902). C. Marital Rape  Marital rape, also referred to as intimate partner sexual assault, is one that is done or committed by the current or the past partner, whether boyfriend or spouse. It happens when there is forced intercourse within the marriage or the partnership. However, there are still many countries that do not consider marital rape as a crime. In the United States for instance, rape is defined as sexual conduct forced on an individual other than a wife since the wife sexual consent is presumed. D. Date Rape In acquaintance rape, the offender is usually somebody who the victim knows casually or by sight, such as a colleague or a neighbour. In date rape, the offender is somebody who the victim knows and who the victim has consented to spend time with. Somebody who commits acquaintance rape or date rape can make use of various tactics, such as seeing to it that she is isolated, locking the door, making promises of taking her home from an event or party but taking her someplace else instead; he may threaten the victim with public humiliation, telling her that he will tell their friends that they sexually romantic regardless of what might actually take place; he may pressure her emotionally, saying that if she doesn’t agree, he will leave her; or he may use economic pressure, saying that he deserves sexual intimacy because he paid for their dinner (Huff, 2009). II. Who are the offenders and their characteristics?  A. Age of Offenders According to Holmes (1991), sex offenders and rapists are likely to be young men below the age of 30 during the time of the assault. In a study conducted by Quinsey and Upfold (1985) involving 72 rape offenders, the average age of these offenders was 24 years old. The relationship between age and offense is seldom taken into consideration in the literature on rape beyond its descriptive qualities in the methodology. It was suggested that hormonal factors existing in young men were linked with sexual offense (Marshall and Barabee, 1984). B. Gender of Offenders According to researchers (e.g. Lievore, 2003; Avakame, 1999), between 97% and 99% of alleged sex offenders are male. While physiologically and legally females are also capable of committing rape, for example, by digitally or orally penetrating victims (both male and female), such instances seldom reach the criminal justice system (Matthews et al 1991). C. Class of Offenders According to Holmes (1991), overwhelmingly, convicted rape offenders are from lower socio-economic backgrounds. Usually, they have inconsistent employment history in unskilled works, have high academic failure rates, and come from unstable backgrounds (Bard et al, 1987). The underrepresentation of males from upper and middle class backgrounds may indicate a higher involvement in marital and date rapes, which have lower conviction and reporting rates (Vogelman, 1990). It is remarkable that lower responsibility was associated with higher-class offenders than lower-class offender in laboratory studies on apportioning blame in rape cases (Krahe, 1985). III. What is the classification of rape patterns?  A. Massachusetts Treatment Center Classification  The rape classification system developed by the Massachusetts Treatment Center (MTC), not in its 3rd version (Knight, 1999), aimed at addressing the problems of validity and reliability by working with full accounts of the sex offenders on file within MTC backed up by interviews and other evaluations of these offenders. After twenty years of research, the result is a system of classification allowing rapists to be classified under one of the five types of rape based on (1) vindictiveness, (2) non-sadistic sexuality, (3) sadistic sexuality, (4) pervasive anger, and (5) opportunism. B. MTC: RC  “MTC: R1”, the first version of the rape classification system of the Massachusetts Treatment Center, was constructed by Knight and Prentky (1990, 1991). This was based closely on the work of Cohen et al (1969, cited in Prentky et al, 1985). It categorized rapists into four types: (1) impulsive type, which has low self-control and is predatory in nature; (2) sex aggression defusion type, which integrates sadistic elements; (3) compensatory type, which is largely motivated sexually and driven by fantasies; and (4) displaced aggression type, which makes use of rape for hurting or punishing the victim (Prentky et al., 1985). However, it was found that this model had many problems regarding reliability and validity, so it was revised and refined. The second version of this was the MTC:R2, because the first version encountered problems with validity and reliability. Rapists were classified here as: Sadistic type Displaced anger type Exploitative type, and Compensatory type Furthermore, a second tier was added to these classifications that divided each classification into low and high impulsivity, as demonstrated in the lifestyle and history of the sex offenders. Thus, a total of eight rapist types were created (Prentky et al., 1985). However, when problems regarding reliability again surfaced, it was again revised into the MTC: R3. This divided rapists into nine types: vindictive (with moderate or low social competency), sexual non-sadistic (with high or low social competency), sexual sadistic (muted or overt), pervasively angry, and opportunistic (with low or high social competency; Knight & Prentky, 1990). The MTC:R3 is also contended to reflect the significance of psychopathy (Knight & Prentky, 1990). It was suggested by Knight et al (1998) that the first four types are often non-psychopathic and the last five types are psychopathic. It must be noted, however, that Knight et al (1998) use the terms antisocial and psychopathic interchangeably in this context, thus it is not clear what exact construct they were referring to. At present, the MTC:R3 is being evaluated for its validity and reliability. The advantage of this typology is that it is being updated, cross-validated, and updated constantly based on empirical research. Initial research suggests, however, that this typology may still need to be refined to make it more generalizable to a greater population. In a study conducted by Barbaree et al (1994), it was found that only one out of 80 sex offenders could be classified under the pervasively angry type, and that 20 out of 80 could not be classified under any type. Perhaps this is because MTC typologies, like the typology developed by Groth et al (1979), were developed on a sample of the most dangerous sexual offenders in the US. It may not be possible to generalize to greater populations of sex offenders based on these, or to community settings and other countries such as New Zealand. C. Groth Typology  The simplest typology for rapists was developed by Groth (1979), which classifies rapists into three main types: 1) Anger rapist. Someone who makes use of rape to humiliate or degrade women. He usually attacks prompted by some financial, occupational, or marital problem. He expresses severe profanity. 2) Power rapist. Someone who makes use of rape for the purpose of establishing “masculine identity”, or expressing sexual triumph. He tends to kidnap his victims for repeated attacks over an extended length of time. 3) Sadistic rapist. Someone who makes use of bondage or torture for the purpose of experiencing sexual arousal over the suffering of the victim. He usually targets prostitutes or women who have had numerous sexual partners, those who express their sexuality actively (or are regarded as doing so, even if they are not in reality), or those who represent something he wants to punish or destroy. IV. What is the Sexual assault of children?  A. Pedophiles, Pedophilia, Hebephilia, Ephebophilia, Paraphilia A pedophile refers to an adult who is sexually and emotionally attracted to children, generally below 13 years of age. To qualify as a pedophile, the adult must be at least 16 years old and at least five years older than the victim (Taylor, 1982). Pedophilia, however, is not a legal or criminal term, but a medical diagnosis. It is the condition which pedophiles are suffering from. Pederasty refers to sexual interest in and attraction to pubescent children. Hebephilia refers to sexual interest in and attraction to only young people, while ephebophilia refers to sexual interest in and attraction to early adolescents or children undergoing puberty. These are all subcategories of paraphilia, which refers to a deviant sexual orientation. B. Child Molestation (Intrafamilial or Extrafamilial) Child molestation is not a clinical diagnosis, but is not the same thing as pedophilia (Murray, 2000). Basically, a child molester can refer to anyone who touches a child at least 4 years younger than him or her, for the purpose of obtaining sexual gratification (Abel & Harlow, 2001). This age requirement is added to remove childhood sex play that is developmentally normal such as two 7-year old kids playing doctor (Johnson, 2002). A child molester can either be intrafamilial or extrafamilial. Intrafamilial child molesters are members of the family, usually being adult males (e.g. father, grandfather, stepfather, mother’s live-in boyfriend, etc.). It must be noted, however, that there are also female intrafamilial child molesters. Extrafamilial child molesters, however, are not members of the family. They may have some degree of emotional bond with the parents of the child to be able to molest him or her. An example could be a babysitter assumed to be trustworthy, or a family friend whom the parents trust. The molester may also be able to molest the child because he or she is not within the frame of reference of the parents. Parents who have never experienced being abused before, or who have erased the experience from their memories, do not anticipate that their children will be molested by other adults. The molestation may also be possible because the parents need the services of the molester. Examples of such molesters are teachers at preschool or daycare, babysitters, etc. Lastly, the molester may be someone who the parents of the child trust. Examples include priests, pastors, leaders of youth groups, coaches, etc (Baker, 2002). V. What are the characteristics of pedophiles?  As mentioned earlier, pedophiles are sexually attracted to children at least five years younger than him or her. Some of the sexual acts they engage in include penetrating the vagina, anus, and/or mouth, engaging in oral sex, fondling a child, frotteurism (masturbating in front of a child, or more intrusive physical contact, such as rubbing their penis or vagina against a child), voyeurism (looking at a naked child), undressing a child, or exhibitionism (exposing oneself to a child) (American Psychiatric Association, 2000) References Abel GG, Harlow N. The Abel and Harlow child molestation prevention study. Excerpted from The Stop Child Molestation Book. Philadelphia, Pa: Xlibris; 2001. 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Taylor B., “Introduction”, in: Taylor B., editor Perspectives in paedophilia. London: Batsford Academic and Educational Ltd, 1982. Uniform Crime Reporting, Unioirm Crime Reports. http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/ucr Vogelman, L. (1990). The Sexual Face of Violence: Rapists on Rape. Johannesburg: Raven Press. Read More