Theoretical Causes of Rape - Essay Example

The 16 questions shall be sub-grouped to represent the four theories as causes of rape identified in Hyde's text (1996). With the goal of raising the school board's consciousness in recognizing the lack of education and awareness of the topic, this research aims to take future action towards preventive measures for an inevitable sexual assault. In a civilized society, human behavior is governed by acceptable norms and punishment is often sought as an alternative course to correct a deviant behavior.

With increasing highlight on sexual violence as a punishable crime in the civilized world, rape stands among one of the heinous crimes by an individual or group of individuals against an individual for the life altering consequences that is brought about by the experience to the victim. However society's idea on equal protection of laws brings out the need to understand the core of such errant behavior. The need to discover any adaptation techniques that would help limit the incidence of this sexual perversion common even to highly-educated individuals is seen as an effective approach to the problem of rape in particular would gear everyone on the knowledge that "no means no" and using the "point of no return" excuse will eventually tarnish the perpetrator's ideas that leads to an aberrant behavior.

Knowledge is therefore considered as the most effective approach to combat rape as a form of sexual deviation that helps society understand and formulate an well-founded approach to this problem. Rape as a form of sexual assault is common in most societies. It is the most prevalent issue in the world that represents violence against women in common and as a sexual assault on the victim(s) itself. Throughout time, rape has had many meanings that prior to the 1970s under the common law definition predominantly defined rape as an unlawful act of carnal knowledge of a female without her consent (Reid, 1989).

Where copulation is resisted to the best of the victim's ability (Thornhill and Palmer; 2000, p. 1); Searles and Berger (1987) defined rape as a non-consensual sexual penetration of an adolescent or adult obtained by physical force, by threat of bodily harm, or when the victim is incapable of giving consent by virtue of mental illness, mental retardation, or intoxication. More specifically all of the above definition has been simplified by the Minnesota State Law (section 609.342) that considers rape as simply a sexual contact achieved without consent; through physical force, coercion, deception, threat; that includes the victim's mental or physical impairment.

In the broader legal term it indicates a sexual activity with another person who cannot or does not consent (RAINN, 2001). For the purpose of this study, the researcher shall utilize Hyde's (1996), definition of rape, which states, "nonconsensual oral, anal, or vaginal penetration, obtained by force, by threat of bodily harm, or when the victim is incapable of giving consent" (p. 344). Koss et al. (1987) found that more than 15% of the women claimed being raped, and 12.1% indicated that they had been victims of attempted rape in the United States.

An additional 14.4% reported that they had experienced lesser forms of sexual assault. Such reports according to the US Department of Justice (RAINN, 2001) warns that a woman is sexually assaulted every two minutes in America, and a woman has a one in