Sexual Violence Essay

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While sexual violence is the underlying issue that results in rape, there is no single concrete definition stating what it is exactly. This might be because of widespread societal disagreements on the different levels of what we consider sexual violence and it may vary from one society to another or may change over historical periods of time. What might not have been considered as sexual violence in earlier years might be today. Therefore, the issue will be examined in greater depth where multiple definitions will be revealed. The causes and consequences of sexual violence will be discussed as well as what can be done to prevent it and how society should deal with individual’s who engage in such deviant crimes. Let’s begin with a generally …show more content…

The major cause for sexual violence is for dominance and power of one over another. Curra mentions the elements of manipulation, power, control, anger, and sadism fusing together into a vicious sexual doing (pp. 210). Men have always been the stronger ones in the relationship and sexual inequalities create power differences where “rape can be used as a form of social control transforming females into powerless victims with no capacity to stop what is being done to them and may be a way to punish a perceived deviant from the important gender norms (pp. 216) and “women being men 's possessions, women living virtuous lives, and women being devalued contributed to the occurrence of sexual violence” (223). Sexual violence is used as a measure to ensure one’s power dominance over other men and women (pp.217). At a time of war, it going to great lengths calling for desperate measures and rape was used as a defense mechanism to demoralize and humiliate the opposing force (pp. 217-219). Furthermore, rape was used as a biological weapon (pp. 221) to eventually eliminate the adversary because the women of the flip-side were carrying the babies of the other side which would eventually purify everyone to be on the same side. Sexual violence can also be rooted from social and cultural factors (pp. 223) where some cultures consider and contribute to the equality of all genders (i.e., males, females, gays, lesbians, transgender, straights, bisexuals, and pansexual) (pp.227). On the social side, there are many influencing factors that add to the causes of sexual violence occurring. For example, fraternities create an aggressive environment between the males who look for pride (pp. 225). Another social factor has been modern technology allowing easier access for the perpetrator to snatch their victim

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