Age of rape victims in the U.S. 29%    11 or younger 32%     11-17 yrs 22%    18-24 yrs 7%      25-29 yrs 6%      29 yrs & older *National Women's Survey study

NWS rapists of young women/girls 22%    stranger 9%      husbands/ex-husband 11%    father/stepfather 10%    boyfriend/ex-boyfriend 16%    other relatives 29%    Non-relatives friends or neighbors

NWS rapists of adult women 24% strangers 22% husbands 20% boyfriends 10% other relatives 10% "friends" 14% Nonrelative friends *Kilpatrick, Resnick, Saunders & Best

A note on statistics:  studying rape

The introduction to participants in the NWS was:

"Another type of stressful event that many women have experienced is unwanted sexual advances.  Women do not always report such experiences to police or other authorities or discuss them with family or friends.  The person making the advances isn't always a stranger, but can be a friend, boyfriend, or even a family member.  Such experiences can occur at any time during a woman's life--even as a child.  Regardless of how long ago it happened, or who made the advances...."

• Has a man or boy ever made you have sex by using force or threatening to harm you or someone close to you?  Just so there is no mistake, by sex we mean putting a penis in your vagina.
  
  
• Has anyone, male or female, ever made you have have oral sex by using force or threat of harm?  Just so there is no mistake, by oral sex we mean that a man or boy put his penis in your mouth or someone, male or female, penetrated your vagina or anus with their mouth or tongue.
  
• Has anyone ever made you have anal sex by using force or threat of harm?  Just so there is no mistake, by anal sex we mean that a man or boy put his penis in your anus.
  
  
• Has anyone, male or female, ever put fingers or objects in your vagina or anus against your will by using force or threats?

Limitations:  NWS data are limited to women who reside in households with telephones.  This excludes the 6% of adult women who reside in households without phones, and also excludes adult men as well as all individuals under the age of 18 years.  NWS methodology aso does not include assessment of attempted rapes, statutory rapes, and drug or alcohol-facilitated rapes.  NWS interview items do not include assessment of the number of rapes experienced by victimized women, which precludes estimates of the overall rate of rape in America.

Types of rape

From The Rape Victim: Clinical & Community Intervention (Koss & Harvey)

Stranger Rape

Rose, age 25, was accosted at knife point in a shopping mall parking lot and forced by a stranger into his car. He drove her to a rural area, raped her, stabbed her five times, set the car on fire, and left her. Although severely injured, she survived.

Acquaintance Rape

Susan, age 23, went to the door of her house to find a man she recognized from one of her college classes. She opened the door to let him in the house, whereupon he threw her on the sofa and raped her.

Date Rape

Diana, age 50, was vacationing in the Caribbean. She spent some of her time learning sailing and walking along the beach with a fellow guest. At a hotel dance, she danced with this man, and he asked her to walk outside. Once on the beach, this 6′4″ man asked to have sex and forced her to cooperate by holding her down. Diana was too afraid to resist.

Multiple Rape

Ann, age 21, was at a friend’s home with a group of her peers. There were three men, one other woman, and herself present. When the other woman left, the three men raped her.

Marital Rape

A woman recently had gynecological surgery. Two days after she came home from the hospital, her husband forced her to have sexual intercourse. This caused her to hemorrhage; she was re-hospitalized.

Seduction vs. Rape

One of the key questions in the issue of date rape is the difference between seduction and rape: the man feels he has merely seduced a woman, convinced her; the woman feels that she has been raped, coerced. A useful distinction to keep in mind is that seduction involves no force, implied or otherwise. Seduction occurs when a woman is cajoled into agreeing to have sex; the word is “agreeing.” Acquaintance rape often occurs when seduction fails and the man goes ahead and has sex with the woman anyway, despite any protest and without her agreement.

Avoiding rape

Women who fought back forcefully were more likely to avoid rape than women who did not fight back, regardless of whether a weapon was present.

Women who fought back experienced less severe sexual abuse, but related to increased physical injury.

Strategies of Rape avoidance, by outcome of attack

Women who managed to Avoid being raped

• Used multiple avoidance strategies - cognitive, verbal, fleeing, negotiating, force
• Took advantage of environment
• None pleaded
• Less likely to be depressed if raped
• Gut reaction: rage

Women who survived rape:

• were more afraid of mutilation or death
• used cognitive/talking strategies
• used no strategies

Even in the presence of a weapon...

Chicago study:  37% women raped / 63% avoided

With weapon:   56% women raped / 44% avoided

10 THINGS MEN CAN DO TO PREVENT GENDER VIOLENCE

1. Approach gender violence as a MEN’S issue involving men of all ages and socioeconomic, racial and ethnic backgrounds. View men not only as perpetrators or possible offenders, but as empowered bystanders who can confront abusive peers.
   
   
2. If a brother, friend, classmate, or teammate is abusing his female partner — or is disrespectful or abusive to girls and women in general — don’t look the other way. If you feel comfortable doing so, try to talk to him about it. Urge him to seek help. Or if you don’t know what to do, consult a friend, a parent, a professor, or a counselor. DON’T REMAIN SILENT.
   
3. Have the courage to look inward. Question your own attitudes. Don’t be defensive when something you do or say ends up hurting someone else. Try hard to understand how your own attitudes and actions might inadvertently perpetuate sexism and violence, and work toward changing them.
   
   
4. If you suspect that a woman close to you is being abused or has been sexually assaulted, gently ask if you can help.
   
   
5. If you are emotionally, psychologically, physically, or sexually abusive to women, or have been in the past, seek professional help NOW.
   
   
6. Be an ally to women who are working to end all forms of gender violence. Support the work of campus-based women’s centers. Attend “Take Back the Night” rallies and other public events. Raise money for community-based rape crisis centers and battered women’s shelters. If you belong to a team or fraternity, or another student group, organize a fundraiser.
   
   
7. Recognize and speak out against homophobia and gay-bashing. Discrimination and violence against lesbians and gays are wrong in and of themselves. This abuse also has direct links to sexism (e.g. the sexual orientation of men who speak out against sexism is often questioned, a conscious or unconscious strategy intended to silence them. This is a key reason few men do so).
   
   
8. Attend programs, take courses, watch films, and read articles and books about multicultural masculinities, gender inequality, and the root causes of gender violence. Educate yourself and others about how larger social forces affect the conflicts between individual men and women.
   
   
9. Don’t fund sexism. Refuse to purchase any magazine, rent any video, subscribe to any Web site, or buy any music that portrays girls or women in a sexually degrading or abusive manner. Protest sexism in the media.
   
   
10. Mentor and teach young boys about how to be men in ways that don’t involve degrading or abusing girls and women. Volunteer to work with gender violence prevention programs, including anti-sexist men’s programs. Lead by example.

Copyright 1999, Jackson Katz. www.jacksonkatz.com

The Rape of Mr. Smith

In the following situation, a holdup victim is asked questions by a lawyer.

“Mr. Smith, you were held up at gunpoint on the corner of First and Main?”
“Yes”
“Did you struggle with the robber?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“He was armed.”
“Then you made a conscious decision to comply with his demands rather than resist?”
“Yes.”
“Did you scream? Cry out?”
“No, I was afraid.”
“I see. Have you ever been held up before?”
“No.”
“Have you ever GIVEN money away?”
“Yes, of course.”
“And you did so willingly?”
“What are you getting at?”
“Well, let’s put it like this, Mr. Smith. You’ve given money away in the past. In fact, you have quite a reputation for philanthropy. How can we be sure that you weren’t CONTRIVING to have your money taken from you by force?”
“Listen, if I wanted –“
“Never mind. What time did this holdup take place, Mr. Smith?”
“About 11:00 P.M..”
“You were out on the street at 11:00 P.M.? Doing what?”
“Just walking.”
“Just walking? You know that it’s dangerous being out on the street that late at night. Weren’t you aware that you could have been held up?”
“I hadn’t thought about it.”
“What were you wearing at the time, Mr. Smith?”
“Let’s see … a suit. Yes, a suit.”
“An EXPENSIVE suit?”
“Well – yes. I’m a successful lawyer, you know.”
“In other words, Mr. Smith, you were walking around the streets late at night in a suit that practically advertised the fact that you might be good target for some easy money, isn’t that so? I mean, if we didn’t know better, Mr. Smith, we might even think that you were ASKING for this to happen, mightn’t we?”