Rape

787 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Is rape culture a myth research paper

“No,” isn’t a line of defense when it comes to marital rape. In our society marital rape is not considered a huge issue because your body belongs to who you marry. Rape is defined as being forced into enduring sexual actions without consent. As for marital rape, it is being forced into having sex with who the victim is married to. Raping a stranger is considered unlawful but as for raping a marital partner, it is technically okay according to the law and the bible. Only 27% of victims who are raped do not know their attackers in anyway. This means that 73% of the victims knew their attacker, and 28% of them were raped by their marital partner (RAINN). With these kind of statistics, it creates several discussions throughout the years with the topic of marital rape. The talk of how the legal system doesn’t defend victims as well as they should and how it displays an extreme example of sexism not only in todays world but also hundreds of years ago. Even the holy Bible does not condemn against marital rape. Sense marital rape is not frowned upon as much as other types of rape, it becomes known as an unacknowledged crime.

Rape is recognized everywhere throughout the world and is extremely frowned upon. When is comes to marital rape, the idea of it i overlooked and tolerated by our society. The legal reasoning behind this is that when people agree to marry someone, they are becoming each others property. Obviously with inanimate objects, if it a persons property they could do whatever they wanted to it. Sadly the same idea continued through with having property over a person, condoning marital rape. There were actual laws that defended the idea that marital rape was okay to commit such as the Marital Rape Exemption. The law created a...

... middle of paper ...

...ature (men have a biological need to have sex and if there is a woman next to them in bed when they are in the mood they just cannot help it), we may see it as a misunderstanding (although I told him I didn't want to, maybe I gave him the wrong signals somehow), we may have religious issues which question our right to refuse intercourse (I have got to submit myself to him and accept his will above mine as my Lord and Master)” (Hidden Hurt).
What Hidden Hurt was trying to show is that sexism can manipulate even the mind of the victims. Women are making up excuses for the husbands when they are raped by them, because they don’t accept the fact that it was rape, rather they see it as their duty to just take it. So do all men and women think that marital rape is okay? When it came to interviewing several subjects on this matter, the answers and beliefs were surprising.

Show More
Related

  • Rape - The Plague of the Modern World

    2187 Words  | 5 Pages

    Rape is a virus that infects every nation, culture and society. It is constantly referred to as “the unfinished murder”, because of the deep state of despair the rapist leaves the victim in. There is no common identifiable trend that determines who will be a rape victim. Women are not assaulted because of their attitudes or actions, they are attacked simply because they are present. With rapists, just as with their victims, there is no identifiable trend. The old myth that only “sick, dirty, old, perverted men” commit rapes is a lie that society tells itself in order to sleep better at night. The startling truth is that most rapists work under a veil of normalcy. In order for the percentage of rapes to decrease, we have to change our ideas about rape and let go of the old myths of the past. And until this happens, rape will continue to plague our world at large.

    Read More

  • Date Rape

    562 Words  | 2 Pages

    On the article “On a Date Rape” by Camille Paglia, creates a controversy discussion about how women have reached freedom throughout the years and blames young feminist for being “over privileged”. Her belief is that women in general misuse the social freedom she so virtuously fought for. She also mentioned that her generation was aware of the risk that they were taking, while today’s generation does not. However, she blames any young lady who finds herself into a perilous situation for the tragedy that follows; moreover, Paglia’s article is unreliable due to the abuse of several fallacies such as hasty generalization, false analogy, false cause, poising well, false dilemma, slippery slope, as well as straw men.

    Read More

  • Date Rape

    889 Words  | 2 Pages

    The following morning is a dreadful, long one that stays with you forever. The memories in your mind keep crawling up every night when you fall asleep. You keep asking yourself, “Why did it happen to me? What did I do wrong?” Yet no answer comes to mind, all that you can think of is being violated, being misled for a simple task-rape. Why does it happen to us? What do the men see when the door is opened and a gorgeous women stands in front of their eyes. The mind collapses trying to find a solution to the problem. It's like having an exam and the only way for you to score is to cheat. So all girls are just scores guys try to push themselves upon? The mind grows blank and the human body works with sexual instinct. Date rape is one of those things that one man can't find a proper answer for. There are so many possibilities that one might think of as the cause of the problem. Which one is the right one? Is there one specific answer that is physiologically correct? No. Everyone has his or her own opinion, whether it is from experience or from common knowledge. Date rape is mainly cased by the in-proper behavior of the rapist. A man who can rape a woman has obviously been brought up in an uncomfortable, improper raised environment.

    Read More

  • Rape Culture

    1619 Words  | 4 Pages

    In some countries, a woman must prove she is pure in order to find the perpetrator guilty. Rape used to be more of a violation to the man than to the woman. It was a violation of the man’s rights if his wife or girlfriend was raped. When a woman is raped, her devotion to her family is questioned. Rape is a violent act, an act of possession, not a sexual act.

    Read More

  • Examining of Estrich´s and Pineau´s Discussion on Rape

    1473 Words  | 3 Pages

    As Estrich demonstrates, the law on rape has major flaws. The law exposes traditions and attitudes that surround women and sex. It condones the idea that sex contains male aggression and female passivity. The law uses three different criteria to label an act of sex as rape: mens rea, force, and consent. Estrich feels that these features demonstrate sexist attitudes within the law. Our legal system abandon’s mens rea which is Latin for “guilty state of the mind.” It is the perpetrator’s ability to understand force and non-consent. A woman must demonstrate resistance. The man can escape by stating he did not realize the woman was not consenting. So, the court turns to the woman to see if she provided proper evidence that she did not consent to the sex.

    Read More

  • Marital Rape

    1204 Words  | 3 Pages

    Lawmakers and the criminal justice system overlook marital rape, Das (2010) states those survivors’ experiences of being told that their victimization is “not a real rape” and encountering victim-blaming attitudes may lead to less filing of complaints and reporting to police. Women have reported experiencing harsh and insensitive treatment from the criminal justice system when trying to report abuse or marital rape. Social stigmatization, cultural traditions, and gender bias are structural hurdles that discourage women from reporting acts of sexual violence, especially experiences of marital rape (Prasad,

    Read More

  • Date Rape

    910 Words  | 2 Pages

    wants intercourse. Some men also look at women as "fair game" if the woman is

    Read More

  • Statutory Rape

    1089 Words  | 3 Pages

    The term “statutory rape” is used when the government considers people under a certain age to be unable to give consent to sex and therefore consider sexual contact with them to be a rape. The age at which individuals are considered to give consent is called the age of consent. The age of consent can ranging from thirteen to twenty-one, depending on the limits set by each state in accordance with local standards of morality. Even sex that violates the age-of-consent laws but is neither violent nor physically forced is described as statutory rape. In most jurisdictions, the expressions “under-age sex” or “sex with a minor” are more commonly used.

    Read More

  • Rape Myth Acceptance: The Blame On Women

    1166 Words  | 3 Pages

    It is not a topic that is brought up often, especially at schools or at gatherings, yet it is crucial that everyone be educated, or at least informed on a topic that affects women every day. “Given that sexual violence continues to occur at high rates in the United States, it is vital that we understand attitudes and cultural norms that serve to minimize or foster tolerance of sexual violence” (Aosved, 481). Growing rates of sexual violence goes to prove that it is not taken seriously by many, especially when myths excuse the actions of the perpetrator and instead guilt victims into thinking they are responsible for the horrible act. Burt (1980), in her article titled, “Cultural myths and support for rape” attempts to make sense of the importance of stereotypes and myths, defined as prejudicial, stereotypes, or false beliefs about rape, rape victims and rapists- in creating a climate hostile to rape victims (Burt, 217). Examples of rape myths are such sayings as “only bad girls get raped”; “women ask for it”; “women cry rape” (Burt, 217). This only goes to prove that rape myths against women always blame and make it seem like it is the women’s fault she was raped and that she deserved it for “acting” a certain way. McMahon (2007), in her article titled, “Understanding community-specific rape myths” explains how Lonsway and Fitzgerald (1994) later described rape myths as “attitudes and beliefs that are generally

    Read More

  • Battered Woman Syndrome: Self-Defense Plea

    1491 Words  | 3 Pages

    Dowd states in his article, “The Battered Woman Defense” It’s History and Future, that essential to the existence of domestic violence is the denial of the equality of women in cultures that perceived this denial as both acceptable and lawful.”(1) In Roman times a husband was permitted to use reasonable physical force, including blackening her eyes or breaking her nose, in disciplining his wife. (Dowd) Today, many men still continue to use this type of physical force to control their woman even though equality should exist between the two. Many women are in abusive situations and at times feel they are trapped in their own body. A man raping his wife has only been considered illegal for roughly the last fifteen years and that’s only in a few states. Other states require evidence or other types of pro...

    Read More

  • Rape and Sexual Violence

    957 Words  | 2 Pages

    Rape and sexual violence is a very serious problem that affects millions of people each year. Rape is someone taking advantage of another person sexually. Sexual assault can be verbal, physical, visual, or anything that forces a person to join in unwanted sexual contact or attention. ("Sexual Assault.") Rape is one of the most underreported crimes. In 2002, only thirty-nine percent of rapes and sexual assaults were reported to law officials. ("Sexual Violence: Fact Sheet.") Victims sometimes do not report that they have raped because of shame or feeling that it was their fault. It is never the victim's fault. "Victim blaming" is holding the victim of a crime to be in a whole or in partly responsible for what had happened to them. Most victims believe this. ("Myths and Facts about Sexual Violence.")

    Read More

  • Essay On Dehumanizing Women

    1211 Words  | 3 Pages

    “She asked for it.” Attitudes, beliefs, and incorrect ideas about rape have been with us for centuries. There are constantly meaningless excuses, such as "women ask for it," and "women secretly enjoy rape". Women are indeed not objects of pleasure, but it seems as though people cannot get the message. Feminism is needed to get this point across; it is needed as a representation that women are people. Rape is a violent act of power; it is not a sexual act. Rape is dehumanizing for the victim, but yet the victim is always a fault. We live in a society where victims are being blamed for “what they were wearing” or “she led him on”. Justice is not being served in any shape, way, or form. Rape culture cannot be simply defined because of the factors that can influence the situation. However, it could be best defined by Emilie Buchwald, author of Transforming a Rape Culture, “a complex set of beliefs that encourage male sexual aggression and supports violenc...

    Read More

  • Acquaintance Rape

    2622 Words  | 6 Pages

    It’s 3:20 am. on a Friday morning, and pitch black out. The only things visible are the tree branches and pavement shining from yellow streetlights that carve out a path from the parking lot to the back door of my building. Living on campus at Towson I should’ve owned mace, but I clutched my car key instead, pointed outward ready to stab the eye of anyone deciding to come out of the dark after me. The brisk walk up the hill seems to take half an hour. Finally under the bright lights of the overhang I swipe my card quickly to get inside. The door bolt locks behind me with a loud click. I’m safe.

    Read More

  • The Theme Of Violence In Pamela Cooper-White's The Cry Of Tamar

    1296 Words  | 3 Pages

    First off, I was raped by the man I was separated from, he was a volunteer fireman, and good friends with all the policemen. Myth #9 states “Most women are raped by a stranger in a desolate place”, fact is, I was raped by my estranged husband in my children’s playroom (Cooper-White, 116). Myth #7 stating that women use it as a form of revenge, it was truth and not revenge. As a rape victim, it was hard to get anyone to believe me due to his connections with the police force, his great lawyer and the fact that he was my husband, Cooper-White talks about spousal rapes in this chapter as

    Read More

  • Rape: A Living Nightmare

    3121 Words  | 7 Pages

    The society we live in is rape-conducive, rape-friendly, if you will. Despite the anger I feel joining those two words together, I know the sad paradox holds within it a great deal of truth. We are a violent society that has shrouded rape in mystery and shame. To stop this nightmare’s venomous crusades, all people must wage a private war to eradicate their own acceptance of the savage crime. While it is only a minority of men that actually commit rape, it is everyone’s silence that tells them it’s ok.

    Read More

More about Rape

Open Document