Coercive sex: tHE VARITIES OF SEXUAL ASSAULT
Rape
Rape is a subject surrounded by myths and misunderstandings. It is defined as a sexual act but it is primarily an expression of violence, anger, or power. The victims can be male or female, very young or very old, rich, poor, disabled or able-bodied. Those who rape are also a diverse group that defies classification or description.
Historical Perspective
The word rape comes from a Latin term (rapere) that means to steal, seize, or carry away.
In ancient times, rape was one way to procure a wife: a man would overpower a desirable woman and bring her into his tribe. The man then had to protect his property and his honor by preventing others from seizing or raping his wife.
This appears to have provided the origins for the first laws against rape in which rape was viewed as a crime against property or honor but not against the woman.
According to the Code of Hammurabi, a set of laws established in Babylonia about 500 years ago, a man who raped a betrothed virgin was to be put to death. If a man raped a married woman, however, both the rapist and his victim were regarded as guilty and were executed by drowning. A similar distinction with a slightly different twist was found in biblical injunctions about rape ( Deuteronomy 22: 22-28): a married woman who was raped was seen as a willing accomplice, so she and her rapist were killed; a virgin was considered guilty only if she was raped in the city, since it was assumed that her screams would have led to her rescue.
In contrast, a virgin who was raped in a field outside the city walls was spared, since no one could hear her screaming. If she was betrothed to someone, her rapist was stoned to death - if not, he had to marry her (whether or not she liked this arrangement didn't seem to matter.
Later laws against rape continued to specify varying circumstances by which rape was judged as more or less serious. Penalties were higher if the woman was a virgin or of high social class.
Under William the Conqueror (1035 - (1087), a man who raped a virgin of high social standing were punished by castration and blinding. Guilt however, was determined by trial by combat, so unless the victim had a champion willing to risk his life by fighting the accused rapist, she had no way of establishing her case.
By the twelfth century, jury trials replaced combat as a means of determining guilt or innocence. Yet all were not equal in the eyes of the law: a nobleman or knight could easily blame a rape he committed on one of his men and save his vision and chances for fatherhood.
At the end of the thirteenth century, two additional changes appeared in English law concerning rape: the distinction between raping a virgin or a married woman was dropped, and the old custom of penitence through marriage was permanently banned. The essential elements of defining rape and its punishment had fallen into place.
Several centuries later, not too many changes have been made. Despite the legal system, rape has not always been regarded as bad.
In society, rape has often been practically defined in terms of the social positions of victim and victimizer: in the 1940s and 1950s, for example, a white male was rarely charged with raping a black woman in the South, but a black male charged with raping a white woman was dealt with swiftly and harshly.
Even today, in most jurisdictions, a man is unlikely to be charged with raping a prostitute. and forced intercourse between husband and wife does not "count" as rape in many places.
The past few decades have seen a great increased public awareness of rape. The women's movement played a major role to the process, raising issues and demanding improvements in services to rape victims. Today most police departments have specially trained teams to work with rape victims
For more information about Human Sexuality and Rape, Rape Patterns, and Varieties of Sexual Assault, contact Dr. Larry Falls at 604-377-4867, email: [email protected] or fill out the form below
Rape is a subject surrounded by myths and misunderstandings. It is defined as a sexual act but it is primarily an expression of violence, anger, or power. The victims can be male or female, very young or very old, rich, poor, disabled or able-bodied. Those who rape are also a diverse group that defies classification or description.
Historical Perspective
The word rape comes from a Latin term (rapere) that means to steal, seize, or carry away.
In ancient times, rape was one way to procure a wife: a man would overpower a desirable woman and bring her into his tribe. The man then had to protect his property and his honor by preventing others from seizing or raping his wife.
This appears to have provided the origins for the first laws against rape in which rape was viewed as a crime against property or honor but not against the woman.
According to the Code of Hammurabi, a set of laws established in Babylonia about 500 years ago, a man who raped a betrothed virgin was to be put to death. If a man raped a married woman, however, both the rapist and his victim were regarded as guilty and were executed by drowning. A similar distinction with a slightly different twist was found in biblical injunctions about rape ( Deuteronomy 22: 22-28): a married woman who was raped was seen as a willing accomplice, so she and her rapist were killed; a virgin was considered guilty only if she was raped in the city, since it was assumed that her screams would have led to her rescue.
In contrast, a virgin who was raped in a field outside the city walls was spared, since no one could hear her screaming. If she was betrothed to someone, her rapist was stoned to death - if not, he had to marry her (whether or not she liked this arrangement didn't seem to matter.
Later laws against rape continued to specify varying circumstances by which rape was judged as more or less serious. Penalties were higher if the woman was a virgin or of high social class.
Under William the Conqueror (1035 - (1087), a man who raped a virgin of high social standing were punished by castration and blinding. Guilt however, was determined by trial by combat, so unless the victim had a champion willing to risk his life by fighting the accused rapist, she had no way of establishing her case.
By the twelfth century, jury trials replaced combat as a means of determining guilt or innocence. Yet all were not equal in the eyes of the law: a nobleman or knight could easily blame a rape he committed on one of his men and save his vision and chances for fatherhood.
At the end of the thirteenth century, two additional changes appeared in English law concerning rape: the distinction between raping a virgin or a married woman was dropped, and the old custom of penitence through marriage was permanently banned. The essential elements of defining rape and its punishment had fallen into place.
Several centuries later, not too many changes have been made. Despite the legal system, rape has not always been regarded as bad.
In society, rape has often been practically defined in terms of the social positions of victim and victimizer: in the 1940s and 1950s, for example, a white male was rarely charged with raping a black woman in the South, but a black male charged with raping a white woman was dealt with swiftly and harshly.
Even today, in most jurisdictions, a man is unlikely to be charged with raping a prostitute. and forced intercourse between husband and wife does not "count" as rape in many places.
The past few decades have seen a great increased public awareness of rape. The women's movement played a major role to the process, raising issues and demanding improvements in services to rape victims. Today most police departments have specially trained teams to work with rape victims
For more information about Human Sexuality and Rape, Rape Patterns, and Varieties of Sexual Assault, contact Dr. Larry Falls at 604-377-4867, email: [email protected] or fill out the form below