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what is rape?
"Did you know ...rape is a crime that can happen to anyone"
What is rape?
Rape is an act of violence and domination and anger. It uses sexual acts including penetration as a weapon.
Current Legal Definition
The Sexual Offences Act 2003 (the Act) came into force on the 1 May 2004. The purpose of the Act is to strengthen and modernise the law on sexual offences, whilst improving preventative measures and the protection of individuals from sexual offenders.
The main provisions of the Act include the following:
· Rape is widened to include oral penetration
· Significant changes to the issue of consent and the abolition of the Morgan defence
· Specific offences relating to children under 13, 16 and 18
· Offences to protect vulnerable persons with a mental disorder
· Other miscellaneous offences
· Strengthening the notification requirements and providing new civil preventative orders
"Did you know ...rape crisis is here to help you"
What is sexual (indecent) assault?
Sexual assault is an act of physical, psychological and emotional violation, in the form of a sexual act, which is inflicted on someone without consent. It can involve forcing or manipulating someone to witness or participate in any sexual acts, apart from penetration of the mouth with the penis, the penetration of anus or vagina (however slight) with any object or the penis, which is rape. (Thanks to Ireland Network Rape Crisis)
"Did you know ...many women phone rape crisis to talk about what happened to them when they were children"
What is child abuse?
Child Abuse is any type of sexual assault on a child under the age of sixteen. When this assault comes from members of the family it is called incest. The type of assault can vary from unwanted kissing or touching to oral, vaginal or anal intercourse.
Statistics?
Half of all girls experience some form of sexual abuse (from flashing to Rape) before their 18th birthday, one third before they are twelve.
Over 95% of convicted abusers of children are male.
82% of abusers are known to their victims and 19% are close relatives.
Only 5% of incidents are ever reported to a statutory agency less than 1% lead to a prosecution
(All stats above from CSASU Exploratory Study of prevalence of sexual abuse in a sample of 16/21 year olds. Liz Kelly Linda Regan Sheila Burton)
Is there a need for tighter regulation of state-run children’s homes?
Rather than more regulation we would like to see existing regulation followed more closely. Additionally, it a myth to think that the majority of child sexual abuse happens in state-run children’s home. More children are abused in their own family home by relatives and family ‘friends’.
What are the longer term affects of child abuse?
Can include low self esteem, self harm/suicide, eating disorders, obsessive washing, anger, depression, loss, guilt, pain etc etc
What about false memory syndrome?
In our experience most women who come to Rape Crisis have, for many years, tried to forget their experiences – however due to some stimuli – be it TV, family event, birth, death etc the memory is ignited again. The false memory advocates believe you can implant a memory that is false in a person mind – or that you can even read a book and believe that what you have read has happened to you. Groups working in the field of sexual abuse tend to reject this hypothesis. If someone were to have a memory that was not correct this would be part of a much broader problem. However we have seen evidence of where men were not able to remember or had a false memory about raping women and girls.
Are child abusers homosexual?
It is a myth to believe that child abusers are homosexual and feeds into the myth that most child abuse is male perpetrator on male children. Girls are abused in childhood and abusers are driven by the desire to control and exert power; often the sex of the child is immaterial.
There is a general trend in the media, politically and in general to confuse child abuse with paedophilia. Certainly, paedophiles abuse children but not all child abusers are paedophiles. Child abusers are motivated by power and control. Implicitly, by applying the medico-scientific label ‘paedophile’, these men are being excused as suffering from a medical condition, a condition which suggests an uncontrollable attraction towards pre-pubescent bodies. We should not use the term paedophile at all. These men do not love children, they are child abusers. They know right from wrong.
Do women abuse children?
Yes, although research suggests that this is much less than male abuse of children. Rape crisis groups would support punitive measures for female abusers.
"Did you know ... 11% of children aged under 16 experienced sexual abuse during childhood by people known but unrelated to them. Cawson et al. (2000)"
Date rape
Recent reports in the media and attention by researchers has led to the (inaccurate) naming of certain types of rape as ‘date’ rape. It is not a new phenomenon; men have been raping known women for millennia.
Should there be a lesser offence? (see Law)
We believe not. There is the belief that being raped by a known man is not as traumatic as being raped by a stranger. Our experience shows us that this is often not the case. Women invest a lot of trust into the relationships they form with men and if this trust is abused it can leave the woman doubting all relationships, past, present and future. To enact a lesser offence would be to minimise women’s right to justice and minimise the harm the rape has done.
Is date rape as bad as ‘stranger’ rape?
(see above)
Aren’t women in some way responsible?
Women are never responsible for men’s actions. Men are responsible for their actions and the law should make them accountable.
Is date rape increasing?
It is difficult to monitor something if it has no name. Before the mid 1970s, sexual harassment had no name, it existed but the language to name it did not exist. Since that time, there has been a growing awareness and reporting of sexual harassment. The same is true of the different ‘types’ of rape. Although we would argue that rape is rape, being able to name the context of the rape is often helpful for women to recognise and identify the abuse they experience as rape.
Sue Lees in her research thought that many men who previously would simply have committed stranger rapes, now do try and engage with the women they are targeting. This is because of DNA evidence. In the past they could say “Not me” but now they cannot. Men instead go for consent defence. So they may buy her a drink (or try to) or engage her in conversation first.
Isn’t it just a matter of miscommunication?
Again, this assumes that men and women do not speak the same language. Men often deny responsibility by claiming ‘my wife doesn’t understand me’ or ‘women are difficult to understand’. Rape crisis groups say that the problem is that men do not want to hear, or ignore, what women are telling them when they say no.
Societal expectations demand that women are caring. Because of this, women may try to ‘let the man down gently’ if his sexual advances are unwelcome. However, by the time the ‘advances’ have escalated to demands and attack, women’s words often have little effect.
If she has had sex with him in the past, isn’t she more likely to consent in the future?
Just because a woman has consented to sex at some time in the past does not mean that she consents for all time. This point is made clear in marital rape. Entering into marriage does not give a man unrestricted access to a woman’s body. The same is true outside of marriage. Consent is something that is negotiated on each and every occasion. Frequently, a woman’s previous sex experience with a man may have been so awful that she would not want to repeat the experience.
"Did you know ... it is not your fault if a man chooses to rape you on a date"
Drug rape
Is Rohypnol the cause of drug rape?
NO – So called ‘drug rape’ is a media label that has been in response to attacks on women and girls that have happened in the UK over the last ten years in incidences where drugs have been given to the women (unwittingly) in a social setting e.g. a dance club, by a man – who is known/unknown to the women. The drug/s have been usually ‘delivered’ through drink – alcoholic/non-alcoholic. Drug assisted rape has been happening since time began. Alcohol has been used for many years, to get women and girls drunk in order to make the sexual assault easier for the perpetrator. The forced misuse of valium and other prescribed drugs is regularly used in the rape of women and girls in their own homes.
Some current safety strategies ignore youth culture i.e. that some young women may be taking leisure drugs themselves and that they might take drinks from people they don’t know. Whatever, women are not responsible for rape of any kind.
What are the effects of drug rape?
It is important to point out that reactions will vary from person to person and will depend on which type of drug was used. Drugs used may result in a woman becoming physically ‘helpless’ to respond, result in loss of memory (which may or may not return) or may stimulate sexual response. Women are not to blame for any of this. Even if she consented to take the drug (and that might be the case) she is still not responsible for any subsequent abuse. Women may experience extreme fearfulness or an ‘out of control’ sensation, particularly if they cannot remember what happened or when the memories come back. Women may have suffered physical injury but be unaware of it immediately or unaware of how the injury happened.
As well as this, women experience the same harms in ‘drug’ rape as for any other rape – risk of disease, pregnancy, etc…
Why do men drug women for sex?
To gain power and control (see above under Causes of rape ‘Are men motivated by sex?’)
How many cases of drug rape have there been?
This is very hard to gauge. Police statistics do not break down cases in this way but reports suggest that the risk from drug rape is in fact quite small. This may only represent the tip of a much larger ice-berg. Rape drugs are just another tool in the rapist’s toolkit.
Didn’t the police do a report on drug rape?
Yes. The Sturman report was released as a joint Home Office/Metropolitan police document in 2000. The study analyses responses from 123 questionnaires on drug assisted sexual assault.
"Did you know ... alcohol is the most common type of substance used to facilitate a rape"
Holiday rape
Why do foreign men rape women on holiday?
It is a classic example of xenophobia to assume that women on holiday get raped by ‘foreign’ men. In many of the holiday rapes rape crisis groups know about, the perpetrator has been someone from the same country as the woman. The misuse of power by men is a global thing. Of course being raped away from home where the first language is not your own makes it difficult for the woman to get the help she might need.
What can women do if they are raped on holiday?
They can contact the local British consulate or embassy to ask for assistance in getting medical and legal help. They can request that the tour company provides them with an early return flight (most claim to do this) on their return they can contact their local Rape Crisis Centre who will help. If they have reported the incident/s to the police abroad, they need then to report it to their local police on return, as they may be involved in handling papers. All papers for the prosecution will have to be in the local language to the country where the attack took place. A good solicitor in the UK will help with this. Once home the Foreign Office is the place to contact for up-dates.
How often does this happen?
As often as rapes in UK
Are some parts of the world worse than others?
We have no evidence to show this – remember that there were 14,000 reports of rape in England and Wales last year – that’s a lot for any country.
"Did you know ... rape crisis is here to help"
Marital rape
Is non-consensual sex by a man on his wife considered rape?
Yes.
When did it become illegal?
1991, before then it was considered that women consented to men once and for all time on marriage.
How many cases have there been?
There is the example of the man who got ten years:
Guardian 17.3.98
Ten Years for man who raped wife.
A former special constable who raped his wife 7 times over 5 days after she told him she was leaving him was jailed for 10 years yesterday… He had kept her shackled to a radiator.
This demonstrates that it is not useful to think about different ‘degrees of rape’ with the relationships between the parties determining the sentence. However, we do know that even in the 21st century, few cases of marital rape result in convictions.
Is it as traumatic as ‘real’ rape?
It is inappropriate to try to measure the impact of rape on a scale of one to ten. Each rape, and the effects it might have on the women, is dependent on a variety of factors.
"Did you know ... your identity will be protected if you report to the police"
Male rape
Why don’t rape crisis centres provide services for men?
Rape crisis provide services for women run by women. Frequently men contact groups because there is a lack of services for men. When this happens the phoneliner will advise the man of local and national contacts that are available for him to contact.
Rape crisis groups were formed in the political context of the Women’s Movement. They were a response to the lack of public acknowledgement of rape and the lack of appropriate services. Rape crisis groups cannot hope to solve all the ills of the world, they concentrate instead on trying to make a difference in women’s lives.
Are male rapists homosexual?
It is a myth to believe that child abusers are homosexual and feeds into the myth that most child abuse is male perpetrator on male children. Girls are abused in childhood and abusers are driven by the desire to control and exert power; often the sex of the child is immaterial.
There is a general trend in the media, politically and in general to confuse child abuse with paedophilia. Certainly, paedophiles abuse children but not all child abusers are paedophiles. Child abusers are motivated by power and control. Implicitly, by applying the medico-scientific label ‘paedophile’, these men are being excused as suffering from a medical condition, a condition which suggests an uncontrollable attraction towards pre-pubescent bodies. We should not use the term paedophile at all. These men do not love children, they are child abusers. They know right from wrong.
Statistics?
Just as female rape is under-reported so we suspect is male rape. As far as we know there are no accurate statistical details on the extent of male rape.
Is rape more traumatic for men?
We feel that the horrific act itself of rape cannot be weighted against another attack of a similar nature whether it be male or female, the effects are individual and always traumatic. The idea that women find it easier to report the crime of rape is a myth.
It is however worth considering why a man’s mind and body would be more damaged than that of a woman? Women will have to deal with issues that men will not, such as pregnancy testing, morning after pill, pregnancy, abortion or birth of a child.
"Did you know ... most rape crisis groups are women-only spaces but they still give information to male victims"
Causes of rape
Are men motivated by sex?
The myth is that men rape women because they do not have ‘legitimate’ access to women for sex. The idea is grounded on the belief that men have uncontrollable urges that must be satisfied. In fact, men’s sex drives are no more strong than women’s. If it was purely a biological urge, then masturbation would satisfy it.
Men rape women to secure power and control. Men commit child abuse to secure power and control. Men are therefore motivated by power – using their penis to achieve this is just a way of gaining power – not a way of gaining sexual relief.
Don’t some women ‘ask for it’ because of their behaviour, dress, appearance?
Again, the idea that women some how provoke attack, assumes that men are unable to control themselves. This an offensive ‘excuse’, as it does not acknowledge the vast number of men who are perfectly able to conduct themselves appropriately towards women. A good test of whether men’s sex drive is uncontrollable is in considering a 19 year old man who is having sex with a partner on the sitting room sofa in his parents house. Can he stop when his mother walks in? Yes he can.
Is it just a deviant few who rape?
Unfortunately there is no way of recognising men who rape. If they had horns and tails our job would be much easier. In reality, men who rape are no different in appearance to men who do not. The rape of tens of thousands of women each year cannot be the work of a few men. Serial rapists certainly exist but generally, the men who rape are men known to the woman, a family member or friend.
"Did you know ... rape crisis is here because we care"