Causes of rape
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As of 2006, there is no scientific theory that explains all forms of male-female rape or female-male rape, much less the other types of rape studied in this article. Given the many complex forms and modalities of rape, more than one empirical theory may be needed to explain all the causes of rape.
In addition, there are pervasive double standards and widespread social and political biases against even doing research into male-male and female-female rape in US university settings (Anderson et al 1998). Finally, there are significant socio-political taboos that interfere with research of the perpetrators themselves (Prior, 1996).
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[edit] Rape Theories
Researcher Lee Ellis listed three theories about why males rape females and females rape males and analysed their associated hypotheses against the evidence. In his Theories of Rape, he named the then (1989) known theories for the causes of male-female rape as:
- The Feminist theory which can be succinctly stated by Susan Brownmiller's famous statement: "rape is nothing more or less than a conscious process of intimidation by which all men and women keep all women or men in a state of fear (emphasis in original)".
The feminist theory of rape asserts that what feminists see as male domination of female in socio-political and economic domains is the ultimate cause of most rapes. Feminist theory considers (male-female) rape a crime of power that has little or nothing to do with sex itself. Feminist theory has little or nothing to say about male-male, female-male and female-female forms of rape.
Warren Farrell took issue with the feminist idea that rape has nothing to do with sex by noting that (male-female) rape statistics show young and sexually attractive females are raped far more often than older, less sexually attractive females.
- The Social Learning theory is so similar to the feminist theory that they have "at times been virtually equated" according to Ellis. However, the Social Learning theory sees cultural traditions such as imitation (or modeling), sex-violence linkages, rape myths (e.g. "women secretly desire to be raped"), and desensitization effects (caused, for example, by repeated exposure to mass media rape scenes) as the core causes of rape. Ellis states that "Overall, the social learning theory may be best considered a rather complex blend of Bandura's influential theory of instrumental aggression and the feminist theory of rape". The focus is on male-female rape with no explanations offered for male-male or female-perpetrated forms of rape.
- The Evolutionary theory sees the (male) propensity to rape (females) as being based on natural selection as a response to for the otherwise inadequate male to better transmit the his (rapists') genes to future generations. For example, Ellis states that the "world record for the number of offspring fathered by a human male is 888, whereas 69 offspring is the most ever borne by a one human female." These sex disparities mean that those males who can inseminate the largest number of females by "whatever methods necessary (including force)" might win in the contest to pass down their genes.
However, once again this theory fails to explain male-male, female-male and female-female rape. In fact, the occurrence of male-male and female-female rape, where genes cannot be passed down at all, would seem to contradict the evolutionary theory of rape.
Each of the above theories presumes there is are only few motivations for rape, however those who profile rapists say there are many types of rapists both male and female and many motivations.
[edit] Tendencies of Perpetrators
The desire for a certain kind of sex can in some individuals can rise to the level of a compulsion, even if that activity is illegal, hurts others, and is self-destructive. For example, society recognizes that some child molesters are incapable of stopping themselves. This is society's rationale for keeping them confined even after they serve their time in prison.
If someone has a craving for rape, is physically aggressive, has little respect for the law, has low moral character, low impulse control, and if the risk of getting capture slight, and the punishment for rape light, this person will likely have a greater propensity to rape.
There are also certain characteristics common to high-risk perpetrators of child sex abuse such as themselves being victims of child sexual abuse, the repeated violation of their interpersonal boundaries as children, and unresolved crises in adulthood (Pryor, 1996).
One study of (male) and (female) serial rapists found that over 60 percent of them had themselves been sexually abused before the age of 10-12(?) (Lamb 1999 (pull in researcher)). These correlations, by themselves, mean nothing, but could provide possible paths for further rape research to those researchers searching for universal explanations for the causes of rape.
Some rapists assault victims in order to assert power, because the perpetrator is prone to physical aggression and wants to be able to dominate his/her partner during sex like an alpha-male or alpha-female.
Others aim to reassure themselves of power due to social deficiency and an inability to develop romantic or even interpersonal relationships with females. This "gentleman/lady rapist" often attempts to treat his victim like a partner in a relationship.
And, a third common classification is the "anger-retaliatory" rapist who rapes because of a hatred for either women or men, an impulse control problem, and anger management problems. His/her judgment is often clouded by substance abuse.
Possible conditions which may effect a rapist
- have emotional need to feel and act powerful/dominant during sex.
- crave sadistic sex.
- crave attention
- feel unloved
- take revenge against a husband or wife by raping a son or daughter
- are pedophiles. See also statutory rape.
- are flooded with hormones, and are overwhelmed with sexual desire. These rapists are typically teenagers who engage in acquaintance rape or date rape.[citation needed]
- are sociopaths which find a "crime of opportunity," meaning a victim in a situation where chances of getting caught are slim, and/or the consequences slight.
- are attempting to resolve inner conflicts with female or male archetypes
- themselves were raped or sexually abused.
- feel sexually inadequate.[citation needed]
In 2005, a mixed-sex group of Canadian research psychologists published The Causes of Rape, a wide ranging scientific study of male-female rape causality along with research on forced copulation in animals. They noted that "Few topics have generated more heated debate in the social science literature." They additionally note that "Not all men are inclined to rape". They propose three possible groups of rape causes:
- The Young Male/Female Syndrome posits that rape is the result of the exposure to intense competition among adolescent males and females and young men and women. Rape is sometimes a result of this 'adolescent-limited' antisociality as young men engage in risky activities, antisocial behavior, and high mating effort. They state that "the rape behavior of 'adolescent-limited rapists is expected to be impulsive, instrumental, and exploitive", and one that abates with age. Association with antisocial peers and especially with antisocial peers who are hostile to women is one of the best predictors of (young male) rape (of females) since "competition with peers is the driving force behind this.
- Competitive Disadvantage is the idea that rape is a conditioned response to competitive disadvantages such as learning disabilities, low IQ, brain damage, abuse, neglect, or extreme neighbourhood conditions. The knowledge of these competitive disadvantages can cause such men to choose "shorter term, more anti-social tactics throughout (a probably short) life. Here, rape is considered a conditioned "consequence" of the awareness (usually early in life) that one will otherwise be unable to have sex with a particular woman.
- Psychopathy: A small group of men or women (perhaps much less than 5% of the male population) seem to choose psychopathology as a 'morph'. Men or Women from this group are the most dangerous of all rapists with lifetime patterns of aggression, dishonesty, extreme selfishness, high mating effort, callousness and interpersonal exploitation. However, they exhibit no brain defects and have histories that are "all consistent with a reproductively viable life strategy."
- Others (such as the competitively over-advantaged, the non-antisocial spouse, etc) Some men and women who might be considered competitively overadvantaged such as world leaders, sports stars and business tycoons also perform rape. Otherwise pro-social men or women also rape their spouses. The authors speculate that some men might switch to "high mating effort" and "short-term mating strategies" when the "perceived costs are low" or when the "reproductive interests of women are devalued".
[edit] Warning Signs Potential Rapists Express
There are some warning signs potential attackers display. In order to avoid being a victim, you should listen to your gut intuition and be very wary if you observe these behaviors:
- Insensitivity for others/emphasis on self - puts his/her wants above the needs, feelings or well being of others so that getting his/her way more important to him/her than other people's welfare. This often goes beyond mere selfishness and border nearly on an "assumed divine right." These people will often justify a particularly vicious action with a flip comment like, "Hey, that's how the game is played." Such a person has no understanding that he/she must co-exist with others. Because he/she simply exists he/she thinks the world "owes" him/her whatever he/she wants. A common tactic of such a person it to make you feel bad for not doing what he/she wants.
- Belittling behavior or attitudes towards others - person habitually makes nasty, belittling or degrading comments about others – especially under the guise of joking. This person thinks he/she is better than others, looking down on others. he/she may be a nouveau riche aristocrat or a racist. A person who thinks that race or social position makes him/her superior can also assume gender does too. When you think you are superior, an assumed right to ‘take’ what you want often follows.
- Negating behavior or comments - Closely related to the above two. He/she may try to belittle others feelings, tell them what they are feeling, or tell them what they are not. Comments like "you don’t really mean that" are serious indicators of someone trying to negate you. A person who negates others is trying to take away the other person’s thoughts, feelings and needs and attempting to project his/she wants onto that person. The most obvious example of this is "Well even though he/she said ‘no’, he/she really meant ‘yes’".
- Hostile and/or threatening language - Choice of words convey subconscious assumptions about a particular topic. It is all too easy to dismiss this behavior as just "blowing off steam." but if it is a constant behaviour, it goes far beyond that. Someone who habitually uses violent or threatening language should be carefully watched for possible escalation. It’s on his/her mind already. It’s an uncomfortably short step from ‘thinking about’ to ‘doing’.
- Bullying - This behavior is especially dangerous. This person uses overt or subtle threats to get his/her way, using the threat of violence more than actual violence. Most often bullies are not willing to risk conflict with someone who can hurt them, and will instead chose to intimidate someone he considers weaker and safer. Someone who is bullying over other matters can easily turn to bullying you regarding sex.
- Excessive anger - This person tends to be quick to anger, namely a "Short Fuse". He/she often boils over at the slightest problem, indicating chronic anger. A person who explodes over a minor issue is like a full pot boiling over on the stove. It’s not that the issue is all that important, but that he/she has so much anger already, any more causes him/her to explode. Often people with chronic anger look for targets to vent their anger at. This could manifest as physical fights, abuse, or rape.
- Brooding/ revenge - This person may hang onto his/her anger long after the situation is over. He/she may still be stewing over something while everyone else has moved onto other things. He/she may become anti-social and glare at the source of his/her anger from across the room. He/she may insist on taking revenge for real or imagined slights, indicative of a petty and obsessive personality. A brooder fixates on something and then works himself/herself into a frenzy over it, like a white lab rat on a treadmill. A person who seeks revenge "has to win" and is willing to take it to extremes. If you dare refuse such a person’s sexual advances, this could turn this behavior towards you. Keep in mind though, that in cases where you're dealing with someone who suffers from PTSD, it is very common for the sight of the person who is a source of stress to elicit flashbacks and a reliving of previous trauma. This is what psychologists refer to as a "trigger," (could also be viewed in the context of stimulus-response, where in PTSD, the stimulus-response mechanism is far more sensitive than average) and the main reason why most people who suffer from PTSD are encouraged to identify their triggers and explore ways to diffuse these. The PTSD person as an alleged "brooder," may in fact, not be stewing at all, and be making desperate attempts to "move on." The disorder is crippling to those who live it, and hard to understand to those outside it.
- Obsession – This is a close cousin to number seven. It is a major factor with acquaintance rapes. This is the person who won’t leave you alone. He insists on ‘hitting on you’ long after you have told him no. He is always trying establish forced intimacy (see ‘bonding process’ below). Such obsessions easily turn into anger when his advances are rejected. One day he shows up in a fringe area, drunk and attacks.
- Extreme mood swings - Beware someone who can go from wildly happy to deeply wounded at a moment's notice. This sort of personality can feel justified to commit an unlimited amount of violence and damage, because you "hurt his feelings." This is a common pattern among those with chronic anger about life.
- Physical tantrums - Beware of a person who regularly physically assaults his environment. (e.g. hitting walls, kicking things, breaking things, throwing things, etc.) It is only a short step to attacking you.
- Jock or gorilla mentality - This mentality promotes both acceptance and encouragement for the use of violence. It is especially common among participants of contact sports (i.e. karate), or those who regularly exercise and experience adrenaline rushes. What is most insidious about this mentality is the "jock" receives, not only positive reinforcement, but out-and-out applause for being aggressive and violent. This can easily lead to a failure to differentiate between the playing field and real life. Mike Tyson’s comment is a prime example: "Nobody ever objected before."
- A mean drunk - Nearly all rape and abuse cases involve alcohol. Watch what surfaces when someone is intoxicated. It shows what is always lurking underneath. Do not put yourself into a situation where you would deal with such a person while he is intoxicated. Most importantly, don't allow your facilities to be diminished by alcohol or drugs in this person's presence.
- Alcohol or drug abuse - To begin with drug and alcohol addiction can be traced back to selfishness and a refusal to change one’s world view. Alcohol and drugs are not the cause of bad behavior, rather they are used as an excuse! Often the attacker intentionally became intoxicated to ignore the social restrictions and inhibitions regarding violence.
While there are others, these behaviors are serious indicators of a potential rapist. This short list should acquaint you with the basics. Not all men are rapists, but a person like this has a higher probability than others. You not only find these traits among rapists and abusers, but also professional criminals. Philosophically there is little difference between such, they are all selfish. Most often it is just a matter of degrees, style, and choice of victims.
[edit] Multiple re-victimization of rape victims
The risk of sexual revictimization, according to the CDC, is based on vulnerability factors. One of these is the pre-existence of PTSD from a previous assault. Being the victim of child sexual abuse doubles the likelihood of adult sexual victimization (Parillo et al., 2003) (Sarkar, N.; Sarkar, R., 2005). PTSD levels are actually higher in those who have been previously victimized than in survivors of only one assault (Follette et al., 1996). PTSD could give the victim the appearance of vulnerability in dangerous situations and affect the ability of the victim to defend themselves.
One study found that of the 433 sexually assaulted respondents, two-thirds reported more than one incident (Sorenson et al., 1991). Two further studies also found that women who were victimized more than once or in both childhood and adolescence had a higher risk for adult revictimization and more PTSD (Siegel & Williams, 2001), (Breslau et al., 1999). Intervention such as counseling for mental health issues (like PTSD) and for possible addictions related to the abuse can help women with child sexual abuse histories overcome some of the abuse-related sequelae that make them vulnerable to adult revictimization (Parillo et al., 2003). Other factors influencing recovery are emotional support from friends, relations, social and community supports (Sarkar, N.; Sarkar, R., 2005). Further research needs to be done on male-male, male-female and female-female victimization.
According to rape researchers, the prevention of rape is likely to be successful to the extent that the causes are known. They also note that few topics generate as much heated speculation with so little empirical knowledge than research on the causes of rape. However, empirical research is beginning to replace political rhetoric with peer-reviewed science. As of 2006, there is no scientific theory that explains all forms of male-female rape, much less the other types of rape including female-male rape, studied in this article. Given the many complex forms and modalities of rape, more than one empirical theory may be needed to explain all the causes of rape. In addition, there are pervasive double standards and widespread social and political biases against even doing research into male-male, female-male, and female-female rape in US university settings (Anderson et al 1998). Finally, there are significant socio-political prohibitions that interfere with research of the perpetrators themselves (Prior, 1996). The presence of all these prejudices, omissions and obstacles vis a vis objective scientific investigation tends to make recent rape research quite questionable at best and absurd at worst.
[edit] Further reading
- Shields, N. & Hanneke, C. (1988). Multiple Sexual Victimization: The Case of Incest and Marital Rape. In G. Hotaling, D. Finkelhor, J. Kirkpatrick, & M. Strauss (Eds), Family abuse and its consequences: New directions in research. (pp. 255-269). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
- Sorenson SB, Siegel JM, Golding JM, Stein JA. (1991). Repeated sexual victimization.
Violence Vict. Winter;6(4):299-308.
- Lamb, Sharon, The Trouble with Blame: Victims, Perpetrators and Responsibility, Harvard Univ Press, 1999.
- Murray JD, Spadafore JA, McIntosh WD. (2005) Belief in a just world and social perception: evidence for automatic activation. J Soc Psychol. Feb;145(1):35-47.
- Frese, B., Moya, M., & Megius, J. L. (2004). Social Perception of Rape: How Rape Myth Acceptance Modulates the Influence of Situational Factors. Journal-of-Interpersonal-Violence, 19(2), 143-161.
Causes of multiple victimization .* Parillo, K., Robert C. Freeman, & Paul Young. (2003) Association Between Child Sexual Abuse and Sexual Revictimization in Adulthood Among Women Sex Partners of Injection Drug Users. Violence and Victims. 18(4): 473-484.
- Shields, N. & Hanneke, C. (1988). Multiple Sexual Victimization: The Case of Incest and Marital Rape. In G. Hotaling, D. Finkelhor, J. Kirkpatrick, & M. Strauss (Eds), Family abuse and its consequences: New directions in research. (pp. 255-269). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
- Sorenson SB, Siegel JM, Golding JM, Stein JA. (1991). Repeated sexual victimization.
Violence Vict. Winter;6(4):299-308.
Male victims
- Dorais, Michel, Don't Tell: The Sexual Abuse of Boys, McGill-Queen Univ Press, 2002.
- Mezey, Gillian, and King, Michael, Male Victims of Sexual Assault, Oxford, 2000.
Theories
- Anderson, Peter and Struckman-Johnson Cindy, Sexually Aggressive Women: Current Perspectives and Controversies, Guilford, 1998.
- Harris, Grant, et al, The Causes of Rape: Understanding Individual Differences in Male Propensity for Sexual Aggression, American Psychological Association, 2005.
- "Psychosexual Disorders." Section 15, Chapter 192 in The Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy , edited by Mark H. Beers, MD, and Robert Berkow, MD. Whitehouse Station, NJ: Merck Research Laboratories, 2002.
- Brownmiller, Susan: Against Our Will : Men, Women, and Rape, Ballantine Books, 1975.
- Ellis, Lee, Theories of Rape: Inquiries Into the Causes of Rape, Hemisphere, 1989.
- Cothran, Helen, Sexual Violence: Opposing Viewpoints, Thompson Gale, 2003.
- Holmes, Ronald and Steven, Current Perspectives on Sex Crimes, Sage, 2002.
- Kanin, Eugene J. (1994). False Rape Allegations. Archives of Sexual Behavior.
- Thornhill, Randy and Palmer, Craig T. A Natural History of Rape: Biological Bases of Sexual Coercion. MIT Press, 2001.
, 17:147-156
Child rape and child sexual assault
- Levesque, Roger, Sexual Abuse of Children, Indiana Univ Press, 1999.
- Pryor, Douglass, W. Unspeakable Acts: Why Men Sexually Abuse Children, New York University Press, 1996.
Female Sex Offenders
- Pearson, Patricia, When She Was Bad: Violent Women and the Myth of Innocence, Viking Adult, 1997.
- Adams, Ken, Silently Seduced: When Parents Make their Children Partners-Understanding Covert Incest, HCI, 1991.
- Anderson, Peter B., and Struckman-Johnson Cindy, Sexually Aggressive Women: Current Perspectives and Controversies, Guilford, 1998.
- Kierski, Werner, Female Violence: Can We Therapists Face Up to it?, Counseling and Psychotherapy Journal, 12/2002.
- Rosencrans, Bobbie, The Last Secret: Daughters Sexually Abused by Mothers, Safer Society, 1997.
- Miletski, Hani, Mother-Son Incest: The Unthinkable Broken Taboo, Safer Society, 1999.
- Elliot, Michelle, Female Sexual Abuse of Children, Guilford, 1994
- Hislop, Julia, Female Sex Offenders: What Therapists, Law Enforcement and Child Protective Services Need to Know, Issues Press, 2001.
Non-human rape
- Gowaty, P.A. and N. Buschhaus. (1997). Functions of aggressive and forced copulations in birds: female resistance and the CODE hypothesis. American Zoologist (in press)
[edit] Others
- McElroy, Wendy, Sexual Correctness: The Gender-Feminist Attack on Women, McFarland, 2001.
- Ghiglieri, Michael P. (1999). The Dark Side of Man: Tracing the Origins of Violence. USA: Perseus Books.
[edit] External links
[edit] Research resources on sexual assault and rape
- RAINN - The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network
- Rape Crisis Information Pathfinder - Find journal articles, statistics and online resources on rape and sexual assault. Includes male survivor information
- AARDVARC: An Abuse, Rape, and Domestic Violence Aid and Resource Collection - includes male survivor information
- National Criminal Justice Reference Service article database
- Sexual Violence Facts from the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control
- The History of Rape: A Bibliography
- Male Survivor: Overcoming Sexual Victimization of Boys and Men
- MenWeb: Male Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse
- Sexual Violence Research Initiative
- Dispatches from the Front Lines- current events articles
