Rape

Although the specific legal definition of rape varies from state to state, it generally constitutes vaginal, oral, or anal intercourse committed against a person without that person's consent. More often than not, the use of physical force, the threat of force, or intimidation is involved in an act of rape. Any sexual intercourse with a child, defined in most states as a male or female under the age of 14, qualifies as rape. Statutory rape is defined as sexual intercourse with a female over the age of 14 but under the legal age of consent, which in most states is 18 years of age. It is important to remember that statutory rape charges can be made even if the teenaged female gave her consent and freely participated in the sexual activity. Date rape is defined as rape that occurs during a prearranged social engagement. Outside the legal arena, rape is defined as an act of violence and control in which sex is used as a weapon. In these arguments, the statement that “rape has nothing to do with sex” is often heard.

Rape is a serious problem on a worldwide basis. Information compiled from existing studies and corresponding samples from the World Health Organization's Violence Against Women database revealed that within the past 12 months, an intimate male partner had sexually victimized 15% of adult women sampled in Guadalajara, Mexico; 37.6% in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, in Israel; 6% of the adult women in Northern London; and 48.5% in Lima, Peru. However, the rate of rape within the United States remains among the highest in the world: 4 times higher than that of Germany, 13 times higher than that of England, and 20 times higher than that of Japan. In response to such statistics, it was not surprising to find that the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, in 1995, considered violence against women to be one of the 12 critical areas of concern.

Regardless of how shocking these statistics are, one of the most serious issues surrounding the crime of rape is that the actual number of rapes committed is significantly higher than the number of rapes reported. Some researchers have suggested that in the United States, fewer than 30% of all rapes are reported to law enforcement. Assuming that the 92,000 rapes reported in the United States in the year 2000 represent only 30% of all rapes committed, then the actual number of rapes committed in the United States during that year [Page 389]would be closer to 306,667. To further complicate matters, many have argued that the rape of men is even more underreported than the rape of women. In 1999, 1 in every 10 rape victims was male. However, it is argued that about 3% of American men have experienced an attempted or completed rape in their lifetimes.

In an effort to explain why so few rapes are reported to law enforcement, it is helpful to consider relevant issues within the United States. First, it has long been argued that someone known to the victim, often a friend, an acquaintance, an intimate partner, or a relative, commits 80% of all rapes reported. It has further been argued that knowing the rapist makes it difficult to report the crime. One might argue that ideally, all rapes should be reported. Realistically, however, it is often difficult for a victim to label a friend, a partner, or a family member as a rapist. Perhaps another part of the explanation for this widespread underreporting in the United States is found in the general public's attitudes toward the crime of rape. There remains a collection of myths about rape that too often interfere with the reporting of the crime and ultimately leave the rapists unaccountable for their actions.

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