SEXUAL VIOLENCE

Rape And Sexual Violence

Rape and Sexual Violence

Rape is the crime of forcing sexual intercourse upon a person against the individuals will. Men or women may be victims, but there is a significant amount of women being raped in the United States alone. Rape includes intercourse in the vagina, anus, or mouth. This is a felony, which means it is one of the most serious crimes committed in the United States. Although it is a very serious crime it has shown to be one of the nations underreported crimes, because of the shame or fear involved with it. Many rapists also threaten to kill the victim if they go to the police, which is another reason many cases go unreported. Some studies have shown that the number committed may be two or more times the number reported.

Every woman, no matter where you live or who you are, is at risk. Many think that only young and pretty girls are sexually assaulted, they are wrong. This is a crime based on power and control and offenders often choose people whom they think to be most vulnerable to attack or can easily assert power against. Although people at any age may be raped sixty seven percent of all victims of sexual assault were under the age of eighteen. Rape many be committed by a stranger, a date, an acquaintance, or a family member. No matter who it is the victim needs to realize that it is not his/her fault. "Rapists commit rape -- NOT VICTIMS." Whatever the circumstances may be no one has the right to have sex with you against your will. Many do not realize that rapists do this to prove their power and domination by hurting and embarrassing them, not for sexual pleasure.

Only about two percent of all rapists are convicted and imprisoned due to the difficulty of proving rape. Even if the rapist is convicted they usually only serve half of their original sentence. The laws vary between the states, some of the information that is needed for the courts to convict the rapist is: evidence from witnesses or evidence of bodily injury to the woman, proof that a woman struggled to resist her attacker, evidence from a physician that the woman has had sexual intercourse, which means the woman would need to be examined within 24 hours of the raping. Defense lawyers may also ask the victim of her previous sexual history which may lead the jury to think twice about whether or not the woman consented to sexual intercourse if she has had sexual experiences with several men in the past.

Since marital rape has appeared to occur in relationships involving other forms of violence, many researchers say that it is "just one extension of domestic violence." Some women, however, are raped by their husbands but do not experience other forms of violence. In battering rapes women experience both physical and sexual violence, E.G. If the husband gets mad at the wife and they get into a ...