Rape as a Form of Violence - Assignment Example

Rape As a form of violence Name Institution Introduction Violence is one of the vices that the society abhors but sadly, it is among the most widespread vice in the world today. Various facets are encroached within the boundaries of the definition of violence as a vice. Some of the famous ones include rape cases, queer phobic violence, and pornography. Each of these forms affects the growth and the development of the members of the society in a negative manner. Millions of cases involving some form of violence across the globe in one way or the other have been documented (Schwartz 2010, p. 84). Researchers have shown that many cases of documented violence go unpunished. The perpetrators of violence do not always face the full force of the law. This reluctance and lack of emphasis on payment for the violence meted out by these individuals is prominent in many African states. The dominance of the male members of the society in these nations tends to somehow offer some leeway to violent activities. In Australia, the cases of violence have been on the rise. This paper investigates one aspect of violence in Australia following a publication in one of the online print media. The paper investigates how rape situations propel violence and the various issues that are associated with the scenario. A recommendation on how these cases should be handled to prevent a repetition of the same has also been highlighted. Example- Case summary and analysis Cordell (2013, p.1) in his article in the Guardian the ‘Manus rape claims: former case manager says she is 'truly disgusted'’ shows how rape cases have been on the rise in Australia. A former asylum manager was an asylum seeker on Manus Island was allegedly raped on the asylum. The concerned parties did not take any action pertaining to the case. This led to the repetition of the case where another asylum seeker was raped by fellow detainees. The previous case that shows how various parties involved did or did not act accordingly was a prelude to the current case. The rape of this 19 year old boy by the fellow asylum members was something that could have been prevented had actions been taken to ensure that the perpetrators of the original sin had been dealt with. The reluctance to deal with the people who raped the asylum manager led to the ripple effect that culminated into the rape of the 19 year old boy. The asylum manager who was assaulted states that she feels disgusted that there was no action taken to ensure that such an action would not be repeated in the future. She believes that had actions been taken promptly, there was a high possibility that the 19 year old boy would not have faced the same kind of atrocity that he faced. Rape as a form of violence Rape cases can qualify as forms of violence. The definition in this category is a sexual act between two parties where one of the parties is unwilling to engage in the act. This makes the other party use force as a way of subduing their victims. The usage of force makes this qualify as a violent act. Over 99% of the documented rape cases have involved the use of force between one party and a victim. Technically, people who get raped try to fight off their oppressors to no avail. This makes rape qualify as an act of violence. Negative effects of rape There are various numerous negative effects that are associated with many violent acts. Since rape as an act also fits into the violent category, the negative effects of the same are highlighted in the following sentences. One of the obvious effects of rape is the emotional connection associated with the case. When a rape situation occurs, the victim suffers the most psychologically. It’s a dehumanizing act that takes a lot of time to heal. When a person is raped, especially if the person is a male as in this case, the psychological effects might last for a very long time. The recollection of the act is s very painful process in such a situation. This makes people detest any intimate contacts with other people and they may live their lives in fear. Their relationship with other members of the society are worsened. They may live their lives in solicitude. This solicitude may make them start entertaining suicidal ideas. There are a number of recorded suicides resulting from the psychological effects of rape. This is especially paramount among teenagers. The trauma caused from such and act is depressing and it makes these teenagers feel like outcasts in the society. This isolation tends to make them have thoughts that are skewed towards suicidal attempts. An example would be from the article written by Cordell (2013, p.1) in the Guardian where the victim cannot even allow his name to be mentioned in the media out of the trauma he felt resulting from the act. Most of the teenager who have these feelings do actually attempt to commit suicide. A good number of these attempts do actually succeed. The trauma caused by this action is even more pronounced when the perpetrator is a person these victims have known for some time. It could be a family member or a member of the society in which these people live in. There is also another negative effect of rape as a violent case. When a person is raped, mostly in her teen years, two things may result; the first one is that there is the psychological factor where this teen may end up hating the members of the opposite sex indefinitely. This loathing prevents them from having any meaningful associations with the members of the opposite sex. They live a lonely life full of hatred and any advances from the members of the opposite sex are thwarted automatically. On the other hand, these teens may end up becoming obsessed with sexual activities. They might not be doing it for the pleasure associated but mainly for the psychological effect that sex offers them. They no longer harbor any respect for their bodies and this make them engage themselves into incessant sexual behaviors that could be very damaging. Most of the prostitutes across the globe have such an experience as a turning point in their lives. They no longer have any respect for their bodies and for that reason, they engage in prostitution activities. Rape activities have been documented as having been among the major cause of spread of HIV and other sexually inflicted diseases (Kilpatrick n.d, p. 7). Many victims who have been raped have contracted some form of a disease from the activity. This results into a lot of traumatic experiences for these victims and their lives are changed forever. Majority of these rape victims who get these diseases from the sexual act never heal from the traumatic experience. The disease acts as a constant reminder of the act. As a psychological act, this may also lead to them having to engage themselves in sexual activities as a way of revenging for the atrocity performed on them. This leads to the spread of the diseases among the population. Pregnancies have also been documented largely among the highest number of the victims of rape (Littleton 2003, p. 2). These pregnancies are unwanted and indeed unplanned. When this occurs, there is a high probability that most of these victims will want to have an abortion to get rid of the child. Many of these people die during the process of conducting an abortion especially when it is conducted unsafely. Others decide to keep the child. However, a high percentage of the children born out of a rape scenario have been documented as being treated very badly by their parents and peers. They are made to feel like they do not belong. Most of them never get to learn about who fathered them. Most of them do not have any form of acquaintance with their fathers. These children are not raised with love and care that other children enjoy. This disparity makes them have psychological issues when they are young. These issues may blow up later to culminate into something really huge such as thefts, burglary or even rape itself. Most of these children end up behind bars for committing one form of a crime or another. A fatality effect of the act of rape would be in a scenario where rape results into the death of the victim (Kanin 1994, p. 82). Sometimes, it becomes too much to bear and the victim may end up dead. Other victims get beaten to death as an effort to subdue them into committing the act. In other instances, the victims may get killed as a way of trying to cover up the act. This happens mostly where the victim is in a position to identify the person who raped him or her. In other instances where the victim is a child and the rapist is an adult being, chances are that the organs of the child may get destroyed during this act. This is because the sexual organs of this child have not yet developed completely. In other communities like the Muslim community which value purity and chastity, the victims of a rape act end up becoming outcasts in the community (Arata 1999, p. 66). It is a very heightened belief that Muslim women are supposed to be virgins on their wedding night. When a Muslim teenager is raped, this becomes a very traumatizing situation because it becomes hard for her to get herself a husband. Such women are shunned by the community as outcasts. Even though the act is not of their doing, the community still treats them as outcasts and this presents a lot of trauma and psychological effects to these women. It is more traumatizing to male victims who get raped. They feel that their dignity has been taken away from them and they lose their confidence. Dealing with rape- recommendations The above discussion has analyzed how rape activities and violence have negative effects on the victims. This portion offers recommendations on how the rape activities and effects can be dealt with. The most important thing is to ensure that the victims of rape do not have these traumatic experiences in the future. It is important to make them feel safe. When a rape activity occurs, the first action is to take the victim to the hospital for check up. Once they have been treated, it is important to offer them counseling so that they can be in a position to raise their head high in the society again. It is at this point that the victim needs the close companionship of fellow members of the society for emotional support. The perpetrators of the crime should then be promptly apprehended and prosecuted. Justice should prevail and hefty punishments placed upon the rapists. If heavy punishments are meted to the various perpetrators of the crime, it would become harder for other people to do the same in the future. For instance, had action been taken when the asylum manager was raped as Cordell (2013, p.1) in his article in the Guardian states, there is a high chance that the 19 year old boy would not have gone through the same ordeal later on. Conclusion Rape has been shown here to be a form of violence because of the fact that there is an unwilling party in the act. Various negative effects of the same have been established which include trauma, suicidal acts and solicitude. Loss of chastity among victims in societies that uphold purity such as the Muslims is another negative factor in this scenario. Various recommendations pertaining to how rape victims should be treated have also been offered in this paper. This includes counseling these victims in a bid to assist them get over this traumatizing experience. Another form of reacting to these acts of violence would be through giving very hefty fines to the people who commit those crimes. If people get heavy punishments for these forms of crimes, other people may get discouraged from committing them in future. References Arata, CM 1999,’Coping With Rape-The Roles of Prior Sexual Abuse and Attributions of Blame’, Journal of Interpersonal Violence, vol. 14, no. 1, pp.62-78. Cordell, M. (2013, November 28). Manus rape claims: former case manager says she is 'truly disgusted. The Guardian, Online Print. Kanin, EJ 1994, ‘False Rape Allegations’, Archives of Sexual Behavior, Vol 23, No. 1, pp. 81- 94 Kilpatrick, DG n.d, ‘Rape and Sexual Assault’, Retrieved from http://www.soc.iastate.edu/sapp/rape1.pdf Littleton, H 2003, ‘The coping process of the unacknowledged rape victim’, Retrieved from http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-11062003-190640/unrestricted/heatherlittletondissertation3.pdf Schwartz, MD 2010, ‘National Institute of Justice Visiting Fellowship: Police Investigation of Rape—Roadblocks and Solutions’, retrieved from https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/232667.pdf Read More