Motivation for rape

There is no single theory that conclusively explains the motivation for rape; the motives of rapists can be multi-factorial and are the subject debate. Three primary emotions are thought to motivate rapists, anger, power and sadism, though sexual gratification and evolutionary pressures are also theorized as factors.

Anger rape

Anger rape is characterized by physical brutality with the rapist using far more force than is necessary to subdue the victim. The experience for the offender is one that is of conscious anger and rage. He/she expresses his/her rage both physically and verbally upon the victim during the attack. His/her aim is to hurt and debase his or her victim. He/she often shows his/her contempt through abusive and profane language. The anger rapist considers rape the ultimate offense he/she can commit against the victim. Such a rapist strikes sporadically and infrequently, because the attack will discharge his/her anger and relieves his/her frustrations for a time. But eventually he/she will reach his/her boiling point once more and offend again. His/her need is to hurt and degrade his/her victim, his/her weapon being sex and his/her motive is revenge.cite web | url = http://www.csom.org/train/supervision/short/01_02_03.html | title = Center for Sex Offender Management Lecture Content & Teaching Notes Supervision of Sex Offenders in the Community: An Overview | accessdate = 2008-05-26 | publisher = Center for Sex Offender Management ] The research on convicted rapists has found several important motivational factors in the sexual aggression of males. Those motivational factors repeatedly implicated are having anger at women and having the need to control or dominate them.cite journal | author = Lisak, D. | coauthors = Roth, S. | year = 1988 | title = Motivational factors in nonincarcerated sexually aggressive men. | journal = J Pers Soc Psychol | volume = 55 | issue = 5 | pages = 795-802 | pmid = 3210146 | accessdate = 2008-05-27] In one study, it was found that rapists had less empathy toward women that had been sexually assaulted by an unknown assailant and more hostility toward women than nonsex offenders and nonoffender males/females.cite journal |author=Marshall WL, Moulden H |title=Hostility toward women and victim empathy in rapists |journal=Sex Abuse |volume=13 |issue=4 |pages=249–55 |year=2001 |month=October |pmid=11677926 |doi= |url= http://www.kluweronline.com/art.pdf?issn=1079-0632&volume=13&page=249 | format = pdf]

Power rape

The objective of the power rapist is to control the victim, not to harm them. Sexuality becomes a way to compensate for their underlying feelings of inadequacy and feeds their issues of mastery, control, strength, authority and capability. The power rapist relies upon verbal threats, intimidation with a weapon, and only uses the amount of force necessary to subdue his victim. The power rapists tends to have fantasies about sexual conquests and rape. They may even believe that even though the victim initially resists them, that once they overpowers their victim, the victim will eventually enjoy the rape. The rapist needs to believe that the victim enjoyed "it", and they may even ask the victim for a date later. Because this is only a fantasy, the rapist does not feel reassured by either their own performance or the victim's response. The rapist feels that they must find another victim, convinced that this victim will be "the right one". Hence, their offenses may become repetitive and compulsive. They may commit a series of rapes over a short period of time. The "feminist theory of rape" theory is summarized by Susan Brownmiller's statement: "rape is nothing more or less than a conscious process of intimidation by which "all men" keep "all women" in a state of fear". [cite book | authorlink = Susan Brownmiller | author=Brownmiller, Susan |title=Against our will: men, women, and rape |publisher=Fawcett Columbine |location=New York |year=1993 |pages= (page number needed) |isbn=0-449-90820-8 |oclc= |doi= |accessdate=] It asserts that what feminists see as the male domination of female in socio-political and economic domains is the ultimate cause of most rapes, and considers male-female rape to be a crime of power that has little or nothing to do with sex itself.cite book |author=Ellis, Lee |title=Theories of rape: inquiries into the causes of sexual aggression |publisher=Hemisphere Pub. Corp |location=Washington, D.C |year=1989 |pages= |isbn=0-89116-172-4 |oclc= |doi= |accessdate=] Social learning theory of rape is similar to the feminist theory and links cultural traditions such as imitation, sex-violence linkages, rape myths (e.g. "women secretly desire to be raped"), and desensitization to the core causes of rape. The focus is on male-female rape with no explanations offered for male-male or female-perpetrated forms of rape.

Warren Farrell took issue with the feminist idea that rape has nothing to do with sex by noting that (male-female) rape statistics show young and sexually attractive females are raped far more often than older, less sexually attractive females. [cite book |author=Farrell, Warren |title=The myth of male power: why men are the disposable sex |publisher=Simon & Schuster |location=New York |year=1993 |pages= |isbn=0-671-79349-7 |oclc= |doi= |accessdate=]

adistic rape

In the sadistic rape, the rapist transforms anger and power so that aggression becomes sexual and thus eroticized for them. The rapist finds intentional maltreatment of their victim sexually gratifying. The rapist takes pleasure in the victims torment, distress and anguish. Sadistic rape usually involves torture and restraint. Sometimes it can take on ritualistic or other bizarre qualities. The victim's injuries will be primarily focused on the sexual areas of her body; there may be mutilation of these areas. The rapist may use some type of instrument or foreign object to penetrate his victim. The sadistic rapists' assaults are deliberate, calculated and preplanned. They will often wear a disguise or will blindfold his victim. Prostitutes or other women whom they perceives to be "promiscuous" are often the sadistic rapists targets. The victims of a sadistic rapist may not survive the attack. For some offenders, the ultimate satisfaction is gained from murdering the victim.

exual Gratification

Though anger and power are believed to be the primary motivation for most rapes, [cite book |author=DiCanio, Margaret |title=The encyclopedia of violence: origins, attitudes, consequences |publisher=Facts on File |location=New York |year=1993 |pages= |isbn=0-8160-2332-8 |oclc= |doi= |accessdate=] Richard Felson and James Tedeschi contend that sadism is a significant motivation to rapists. [cite book |author=Felson RB; Tedeschi JT |title=Violence, aggression & coercive actions |publisher=American Psychological Association |location=Washington |year=1994 |pages= |isbn=1-55798-257-0 |oclc= |doi= |accessdate=] Felson believes that rape is an aggressive form of sexual coercion and the goal of rape is sexual satisfaction rather than power. Most rapists do not have a preference for rape over consensual sex.cite journal |author=Dreznick MT |title=Heterosocial competence of rapists and child molesters: a meta-analysis |journal=J Sex Res |volume=40 |issue=2 |pages=170–8 |year=2003 |month=May |pmid=12908124 |doi= |url= |accessdate=2008-05-26] In one study, rapists evaluated with penile plethysmography demonstrated more arousal to forced sex and less discrimination between forced and consensual sex than non-rapist control subjects, though both groups responded more strongly to consensual sex scenarios.cite journal |author=Baxter DJ, Barbaree HE, Marshall WL |title=Sexual responses to consenting and forced sex in a large sample of rapists and nonrapists |journal=Behav Res Ther |volume=24 |issue=5 |pages=513–20 |year=1986 |pmid=3753378 |doi= |url=http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/0005-7967(86)90031-8 |accessdate=2008-05-26]

Evolutionary theory

Evolutionary theory sees the male propensity to rape females as being based on natural selection to allow an otherwise inadequate male to transmit his genes to future generations. The disparity between men and women in terms of the number of offspring means that males who can inseminate a large number of females through force have greater reproductive success than males who do not employ force. Evolutionary theory does not fully explain homosexual and female-male rape.

References

Further reading

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External links

* [http://www.ibiblio.org/rcip/ Rape Crisis Information Pathfinder - Find journal articles, statistics and online resources on rape and sexual assault. Includes male survivor information]
* [http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/factsheets/svfacts.htm Sexual Violence Facts from the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control]