There are some who say that 'rape' is a crime of violence and not sex. Duh. All violent crimes are crimes of violence, but rape is about sex with violence as a means.
If rape didn't require some kind of violence or threat of violence, women (and some men) the world over would simply say 'no thank you, I would prefer to avoid non-consenting sex' and the rapist would have no recourse....aside from violence, that is.
See, violence is the *means* by which someone gets what they want while the other person is resisting or considering it. This is how people make others do what they want right then and there, and it works in law-enforcement too. Don't wanna be arrested? They'll forcibly cuff and carry you to jail. Is it an arrest of violence, or a means to expediently get a perp to jail? Clearly, the latter.
Obviously, I am going to refuse to let some uncouth stranger just have sex with me coz he/she feels like it...so naturally the rapist puts two and two together, predicts this outcome, and shows up prepared, or opportunistically chooses a weak party. If rape were simply about the violence, the rapist wouldn't need to bother adding sex to the equation and would just be really violent.
If you refuse to give up your money to a robber, there's a threat of violence or worse. If you refuse to hand over your car in a car-jacking, there's the fear of getting shot and likewise, some rapes are probably non-violent (aside from the rape itself) simply because the perp has a weapon and is threatening the life of the unfortunate victim.
Rape is not *just* about violence. Rape is a violent means some criminals choose to pursue dangerous, illegal and unwanted sex.
I feel for the victims of rape, I really do, but let's be honest about this crime and not pretend it's something it isn't, and it can't be much consolation to tell someone a 'rape' is about violence and not about sex, when clearly the sex was the harrowing part of the ordeal, especially in rapes where there was only a *threat* of violence (which most of us would take seriously).
This is just another repeated myth I had to address. I am not really sure why people repeat this notion. It doesn't fix anything and I am sure provides no real comfort to anyone who has been raped. No matter how some might spin it, rape by definition includes sex....whether it's 'only about violence' or not.
-dB-
Friday, August 28, 2009
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2 comments:
Hmmm.
I see where you are coming from but not sure I agree with your direction.
Rape is about power. Sex through force aka violent sex is the means. It's not about sex.
I think that there is probably a gray area in some date rape situations but the moment the rapist ignores the word "No", they have decided they have some right to the other person, hence are in a position above them... in power over them.
Many rapists have been studied and interviewed and the findings support this. Many rapists rape out of hate and are doing the one thing they think is more effective in removing whatever power it is they feel the victim has over them.
The word "sex" has a lot of meaning to it that is far more complex and conveluded than "intercourse". Really, at the emotional level rape is violent intercourse. And I suppose, logically, if you define sex only as intercourse of some sort, then rape is violent sex but I don't think most people define sex that way.
I think that rape has been defined in this way that disturbs you because people need it to be that way. Rape has long been seen as somehow the victims fault and it has only been in the past two decades or so that attitudes in the U.S. specifically have changed and one of the fuels for that change was adjusting the way that people looked at rape.
As long as rape was seen as non-consentual sex, it was somehow more "ok". It needed to be made into something more so that it could be an immoral act where women were no longer asking for it just by having tits.
It needed to be made into something where women could feel righteous and speak up and calling it sex just made it too confusing. Calling it what it is... which is violence... has made a huge difference in how rape is looked at and responded to.
So it may seem nonsensical but there is a reason activists take the approach that they do.
I think it relates on a base level to making women feel safer, but no matter how it's defined, rape involves sex by definition. It's about power, sure, but most violent crimes are, right? Either way, it's a horrific crime and should be avoided.
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