How Much Is Rape about Sex and How Much about Power - Term Paper Example

Rape Introduction Violence that is sexual in nature is a deviant act that is conducted throughout the world at different levels. Sexual violence is a term used to refer to the activity that is sexual in nature and is conducted without the consent of the victim of this act of violence. Sexual violence can be divided into different violent activities that are sexual in nature (Cdc.gov, 2013). One such activity that falls in the category of sexual violence and is of huge concern is rape. Rape is a term used to refer to an assault that is sexual in nature and may be conducted against one or more victims at the same time by one or more offender and this assault mostly results with the occurrence of sexual intercourse (Virginia.edu, 2013). This way of defining rape may mean that all kinds of sexual assaults in which intercourse is included can be regarded as rape. The FBI defines rape as the penetration of an individual’s vagina as well as anus with the use of a sexual organ of another individual or through another portion of the body or a particular object without the acceptance of the victim of the act, regardless of the severity of the penetration (FBI, 2013). This is a much clearer and complete definition of rape since it includes the use of different objects and does not view the crime being conducted in a biased manner and accepts that any individual belonging to any gender can experience rape and in order to recognize a sexual act as rape, it is essential for the act to be conducted against another individual without his/her consent and free will. Rape incidents are not conducted while targeting any single group, victims can belong to different races, age groups, gender, country of origin and etc. The RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) reports that most of the rape victims are those who are in their late teenage hood and or those who fall in the category of young adults, 44% of all victims are age below 18 years old while 80% of the victim’s age below 30 years old (Rainn.org, 2013(a)). Although victims of rape can belong to both the male and the female gender, still there is higher prevalence of rape experienced by females as compared to the males. According to a study conducted by 911rape, 1 out of every 6 females amongst a sample size of 8000 females had experienced rape and 1 out of every 33 males amongst a sample size of 8000 males had experienced rape (911rape.org, 2013). It is not necessary that the offender or the rapist is an individual who is unknown to the victim; evidence suggests that the prevalence of rapist who is known to the victim is higher as compared to the prevalence of rapists who are strangers to the victim. RAINN states that 2 out of every three rape incidents are those in which the rapist and the victim are known to each other (Rainn.org, 2013). There are several reasons due to which individuals conduct the act of rape and different researchers have provided different insights regarding why rape activities may take place. Two main factors due to which rape incidents may take place includes: sex as well as power (Smith, 2013, p.197). This writing will focus on different theories regarding rape and try to identify Whether Sex Or Power Is The Detrimental Factor In Case Of Rape. Body Rape Is All About Sex Different theorists propose different theories within the context of their field of study to explain whether sex or power is the detrimental factor that causes rape. Thornhill is one such sociologist who belongs to the field of sociobiology and he has contended that the main reason due to which rape incidences take place is sex itself. He argues that both the male and the female gender are aware about the difficulty they have to experience in the process of having children and females are the one who are most likely to experience higher amount of pain so they tend to refuse to frequently get involved in sexual activities, while male want to indulge in these activities as frequent as possible to increase the success rate of their reproductive ability (Thornhill, 2001). The theorist states that due to a women’s resistance to get involved in the reproductive process and male’s desire to attain reproductive success, rape takes place quite often because males believe that it is one way through which they can increase their reproductive success. This can help in explaining why higher number of women aging below 18 and 30 years old are victims of rape as during early ages of adulthood women are more fertile as compared to later ages. According to Littleton, women are most fertile during the age of 20 to 25 and their level of fertility decreases by more than 90% percent after they age 40 years old (Littleton, 2002, p.140). Another reason provided by researchers due to which men conduct the act of rape is that certain males may be deprived or face difficulties in satisfying their biological need for sex and they may choose rape as method of satisfying this need. According to Plotnik, biological needs are those needs that are essential for the survival of an individual and sex is one of these needs (Plotnik, 2002, p.332). Maslow’s Hierarchy of need theory states that individuals are motivated to perform certain activities because they are motivated by their needs and one of these needs is biological needs (Zastrow, 2013, p.473). Those males who fail to satisfy their biological need of sex due to a particular reason such as lower socio-economic status are regarded as disadvantages men and according to Lalumiere, those individuals who belong to the category of disadvantaged men usually involve in the deviant act of raping (Beaver, 2011, p.354). According to Vaughan, men belonging to lower socio economic status are most likely to indulge in raping a stranger (Vaughan, 2003, p.104). Another reason due to which the male generation may be involved in the act of rape is because they may fall under the category of those who are recognized as specialized rapist (Savino, 2005, p.268). Specialized rapists are those individuals who experience higher level of sexual arousal when they experience sexual stimuli that are aggressive and violent in nature (Duntley, 2008, p.106). This means that men who conduct the act of rape may be doing so because they might possess certain psychological elements that may result in differences in arousal that is sexual in nature when they either experience a sexual situation that may be categorized as rape or consensual sex (Puri, 2010, p.770). These men may experience a higher level of arousal and a speedy rate of ejaculation when they may be indulged in the act of raping as compared to men who might not experience the same form of process of arousal and ejaculation when they are in contact with a rape like situation. The hypothesis of individuals experiencing higher rate of sexual arousal as a result of coming into contact with violent sexual stimuli has been rejected over and over from time to time. According to a study conducted by Greendlinger during the period of 1987, there was little or no evidence supporting the hypothesis that individuals are likely to get involved in the act of rape because of their sexual fantasies that are violent in nature (Greendlinger, 1987, p.9). Similarly Suschinsky reports that the rate of sexual arousal among the male gender is much higher in case of them being in contact with sexual stimuli that is nonviolent in nature and are more aroused when they come into contact with sexual stimuli that depicts consensual sex and the hypothesis of men being aroused due to violent sexual content was rejected (Suschinsky, 2011, p.163). The commonly held belief that rape is all about sex and motive to commit rape is backed by sex stands to be true in a limited number of cases. The same motive fails to justify various elements of rape. The hypothesis that sex is the motive behind rape helps understand the statistical evidence that the male gender is most likely to commit rape as compared to their female counterparts, but this motive does not satisfy the statistical findings that state that the gay and lesbians are even major rape victims and why rape is committed against children. For example: Thornhill states that rape are committed by men because they want to increase their reproductive success but Thornhill’s theory fails to explain why gays, lesbians as well as children are being raped (Thornhill, 2001). Thornhill’s explanation of why rape takes place even helps in understanding that husband’s rapes their wife when their wives reject their desire for sexual activity and this act of rape is even categorized as marital rape (Karmen, 2013, p.324). According to PCAR, 25% of all rape incidents take place between a male and female who are married to each other (Pcar.org, 2013). Rape Is All About Power On one end of the paradigm are those who propose that rape is all about the motive of sex, while on the other end of the paradigm are those who state that power is the real motive behind all rape incidents. Individuals who are motivated by the motive of power to conduct the act of rape are even regarded as power rapists (Zastrow, 2013, p.423). The main objective or the motive due to which a power rapist conducts the act of rape is the intent to gain control over the victim but this rapist does not want to harm the victim. In case of power rape, sexuality becomes a means rather than a motive and it is used by the rapist to gain compensation for his/her feelings of inadequacy and sexuality becomes a method to satisfy the rapists issues of gaining control as well as authority (Flowers, 2003, p.125). This kind of rapist use different forms of threats such as verbal abuse as well as fear of weapon or infliction of pain to make the victim submit to his/her power and only uses as much coercion that is abundant for making the victim submit. A research was conducted by Burges et. al during the period of 1977 in which described the characteristics of a power rapist (Palermo, 2005, p.137). According to them a power rapist is an individual who basically lacks the ability and skills required to generate and maintain interpersonal as well as relationship skills and due to this their sexual as well as nonsexual desires of life are not satisfied. Such individuals even experience limited amount of availability to express their personal feelings as well as sexuality and sexuality end up being a major representation of their self image. Due to this, such individuals use rape as way to prove their sexual ability to themselves and others. The researchers even state that these offenders have fantasies regarding their victims that are quite obsessive in nature and the rapist perceives that the victim at first is not willing to get into a sexual contact, but due to the overwhelming strength and personality of the rapist, they give in or submit to the offender and they submit while being grateful. The researchers even stated that such offenders believe that the power that is used by them is actually liked by the victims and the victims are not ready to accept their own feelings (Palermo, 2005, p.137). A research was conducted by Groth in which they used a total of 133 rapists and 92 victims of rape and identified that sexuality was not a motive to rape, rather power was the main motive and sexuality was used as a tool to exhibit power (Groth, 1977, p.1241). This theory is one step ahead of the theories that belief that rape is motivated due to sexual reasons because this theory quite clearly explains why gay and lesbians are being raped at a higher rate. This theory even helps in explaining why those who are victims of rape incidents are mainly those who fall in the category of minority groups such as women, LGBT and children. The theory sates that rape is committed because sexuality is used as a means of exhibiting power which provide insights that those who hate LGBT may be raping them as a way of exhibiting hate and power over them. Similarly it even explains that when wives reject sexual contact to their husbands, their husbands use rape as way to express their power over their wives and this can be backed by the fact that wives are mostly raped by their husband through the means of anal and oral sex. According to RAINN as well as Bergen, when husbands rape their wives or are indulged in the act of marital rape, they do so with the means of oral as well as anal sex in order to humiliate them and to prove that they are more powerful than their wives (Rainn.org, 2013(b) & Bergen, 1999). This theory even helps in explaining why rapists use weapons as well as abusive language against their victims. The theory states that rapists use weapon and abusive language to overpower the victim and to make them submit to their power. According to a study conducted by Bang on the patients who were visit rape trauma centers in the region of Oslo, 50% of the rape cases that were studied by Bang involved use of weapon by the rapists and 81 of those studied had endured an injury but these injuries were not fierce enough to be provided with special treatment or required special attention (Bang, 1993, p.27). This confirms the assertion made by the theorist, that in the case of power rape, rapist uses as much power that is enough to make the victim submit. This theory even rejects the hypothesis of disadvantaged men which states that rape is a result of desire to satisfy sexual needs, this theory rather states that rape is conducted to prove sexual ability. Conclusion Rape is a hard reality of the society which needs to be dealt with as it is negatively impacting the entire society. Different theorists argue regarding whether rape is motivated by power or sex is the reason due to which rape takes place. Those argue that rape is motivated by sex believe that men rape in order to gain reproductive success, certain men are disadvantaged in various aspects of life and fail to satisfy their biological need for sex and thus resort to rape to satisfy this need. They even believe that certain men are more aroused by aggressive sexual experiences and thus they have a pre sexual disposition towards rape. On the other hand those believing that rape is motivated due to power state that sexuality is just used as a means to exhibit power. Those individuals who rape in order to show their power are recognized as power rapists. References 911rape.org. 2013. Statistics | Rape Treatment Center. [online] Available at: http://www.911rape.org/facts-quotes/statistics [Accessed: 28 Nov 2013]. Bang, L. 1993. Rape victims - assaults, injuries and treatment at a medical rape trauma service at Oslo Emergency Hospital. Scandinavian Journal of Primary Health Care, 11 pp. 15 – 20. Beaver, K. and Walsh, A. 2011. The Ashgate research companion to biosocial theories of crime. Farnham, Surry, England: Ashgate. BERGEN, R. K. (1999). Marital rape. [Minneapolis, Minn.], Minnesota Center Against Violence and Abuse, University of Minnesota. 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Understanding human behavior and the social environment. Australia: Brooks/Cole, Cengage Learning. Read More