Explaining Crime
Although feminists have different ideologies on rape, they have one thing in common. Feminists agree that rape is usually an act of sexual assault perpetrated by men and boys to women and girls and at times to their male counterparts too. Feminists agree that for a long time, women have been misunderstood when they are the victims of rape and that the law favors victimization of females and legitimizing rape and that the crime has been ignored for too long and mischaracterized. Feminists also agree that this crime is normally intentional and various modes are being employed by men and sometimes society at large to intimidate women and instill fear in them.
The myth of one gets what he or she deserves that exists in society makes women live in fear of being raped. Women are made to believe that they are victims of rape because they deserved it, and they perhaps lure the rapist into abusing them. People tend to blame the victim’s behavior and conclude that it could be the reason why they were raped (Hayes, Lorenz, & Bell, 2013). In instances such as women who drink alcohol and are not dressed decently according to societal standards, and unfortunately, the rapist takes advantage of them, society will blame them for being raped. Victim blaming has instilled fear in women, and this has forced them to act and live according to the societal expectations so that rape does not befall them. Women are made to believe and live in fear since society seems to have unwritten laws governing their conduct and how they present themselves. This notion of getting what one deserves has encouraged rapists to perpetuate their evil acts consciously since after all it is the victim to be blamed and the victims will be viewed as the ones who enticed them into raping them. As a result of victim blaming, rapists intentionally take advantage of their victims. Women being potential victims of rape are forced to live in fear, and this gives an upper hand for rapists.
The false promise that by being a good person can avoid rape, plays a vital role in training women in the requirements of femininity (Whisnant, 2009). Women view themselves as pre-victims even before the violation happens. Women are trained to see themselves as potential victims of rape, which renders them more vulnerable to rape. Women are, therefore forced to control and monitor their bodies and their movements so that they may not bring disaster to them. Women have a limit on choosing what to dress, where to have drinks, and how to walk so that she doesn’t provoke rape. Women are also required to utter words cautiously to portray an image of self-responsibility and self-protection. Molding women to self-blame and femininity undermines women’s capability to resist not only rape but also other forms of oppression. Women are being warned severally with cautionary tales, and when they are raped, they view it as a fulfilled threat.
When a woman is raped, she undergoes an awkward moment emotionally. A woman feels broken inside and feels like the rapist has gone with a part of her. Women go through post-traumatic disorders such as nightmares and anxiety. In others, the effect of rape is so immense that they start having suicidal thoughts, and others may end up killing themselves. People fear the impact of rape. Women fear to get unwanted pregnancies and contracting diseases as a result of rape. Rape majorly affect women since they are the ones at risk of being raped. Women, therefore, tend to avoid and protect themselves from being raped. Women live in fear of men and men, in turn, take advantage of this weakness to intimidate and manipulate them.
Rape can also happen in marriage. Some men use marriage as an excuse for raping their wives. In society, there is a culture of women being viewed as sexual objects to men. Women are believed to owe men sexual satisfaction, especially in marriage. Some married men tend to abuse their women since the man’s sexual pleasure is supposed to be met by his wife, whether she is willing or not. Being subjected to such notions and beliefs has caused women to live in fear, making them submit to the man’s demand even against their will. Men are viewed as powerful, and at times, the woman’s consent is not considered. Rape in marriages silences married women to a point they cannot speak up and stand up for their rights. Having such societal expectations from the woman, men intentionally take advantage of women and inhumanly treat them. The culture of women being considered to owe men sexual satisfaction has immensely made women live in fear, and it has also made men intimidate women.
Men also tend to intentionally rape women because it is hard for the woman to get justice. Conviction rates of rape cases in some nations are very low (Larcombe, 2011). In some countries, rape cases are not handled with the seriousness they deserve. The burden of proof is left on the victim, who is already suffering emotionally. Court processes deteriorate the mental health of victims, and at times, they opt not to seek justice at all to save themselves from further losses. Victims also part with a lot of money when trying to find justice. Legal fees and transport costs to and from the court can be overwhelming to the victims. Even when the perpetrators of the act are arrested, they are released on bail, others bribe their way to freedom, and this makes the victims not believe in the justice systems. The men who rape women, in turn, take advantage because they know after all the path to justice will take long, and their victims are going to give up along the way. Rape victims, therefore, live in fear of being raped again and failing to get justice. Fear of being raped also extends to women who have not yet encountered rape since the path to justice will be not only a financial burden but also an emotional burden.
When victims of rape go to report rape cases to police stations, some policemen end up victimizing them. Even though some police officers have undergone training about sexual abuse, some still believe in rape myths (Dellinger Page, 2010). Police may torture victims emotionally by asking inappropriate questions and not being empathetic. A rape victim suffers psychological pain, and the authorities should be a shoulder to lean on. When police officers do not handle the victims appropriately and empathetically, criminal justice, therefore, becomes a challenge when those supposed to help you turn against you. Women do not disclose such instances because of fear of being victimized and stigmatized. Women who have never had a rape encounter also live in fear because they are aware that the criminal justice system may not favor rape victims.
Another instance where men intimidate women is when an activist or any other person tries to come up with ways to help women overcome sexual abuse or make men liable for their mistakes. Critics backlash people who defend women claiming that they are gender biased. Critics are mostly men. With such backlash, the focus is taken off women, and awareness is not created. Critics make it hard for women to unite and fight sexual abuse. Critics divide women by making them have divergent opinions on rape and make them hate one another. The fight against sexual assault cannot be won when the women are not united. Women, therefore, encounter many challenges in an attempt to stop men from raping them.
Rape creates a feeling of dread to women based on how rape survivors are treated. Rape survivors are treated harshly by society and are, at times, considered liars (Thacker, 2017). Survivors who narrate their ordeals are considered petty and selfish liars, and this hinders many women from talking about their experiences. Survivor stories are told as if they are meant to implicate the man who intended to rape them falsely. Women, therefore, live in fear of being rejected by society for being assumed to be telling lies and being viewed as hate mongers. Women who narrate their encounters are accused of bringing a man down and that they are the ones who provoked them. Being branded a liar and a selfish person comes with an emotional burden to the victim. Most women tend to keep such encounters to themselves for fear of not being believed. Men, on the other hand, may take advantage of such instances and bring down women who attempt to speak out against rape. Some men who do not succeed in raping a woman may as well try harder to get rid of rape survivors so that they do not live to tell their story. Women who have not encountered rape also live in fear that such instances may happen to them and society will not believe them and will side with the man.
At times men intentionally take advantage of women and blame it on other things other than blaming themselves. Men who rape women frequently find a scapegoat. Alcohol and substance use may be used by the rapist to excuse their actions, and they may be used on the victim to make them more vulnerable (Suzuki, 2014). Men who rape women are mostly in their right state of mind, and they normally find something to excuse themselves from their actions. Once the blame shifts, women are forced to seek redress through other means such as having to negotiate with the perpetrator and being forced to understand them. Shifting of blame makes the woman find it hard to seek and acquire justice since she will be coerced to let the injustice pass without being dealt with as it should be. Men also intoxicate their victims and end up blaming the intoxication instead of being accountable for their actions. This behavior makes women more cautious when socializing with men, and when they socialize, they are in fear that something terrible may happen to them. Men are aware of that weakness in women and manipulate them more to get sexual favors.
Lack of awareness about sexual assault also makes men instill fear in women. Women who believe in rape myths and have a negative attitude towards women, exacerbates the problem of sexual assault, thus increasing victim and self-blame (Hayes-Smith & Levett, 2010). Some women may not even be aware that a sexual assault has occurred and this makes them more vulnerable to extreme cases of sexual abuse. Men take advantage of women’s naivety and go ahead to abuse them sexually intentionally. Rape myths make women report rape as their fault, and they find it hard to report to the authorities or seek help, for example, through counseling. Another rape myth that makes women vulnerable is that rape can only be perpetrated by strangers, only to end up being victims of people they know. Being raped by close people makes women have trust issues towards men and continuously live in fear. Women should be empowered to know their rights and stand up for them. Women should also be taught on how to react in the event of sexual assault to get rid of the fear in them.
Women are victimized after raped. The woman is generally blamed by society for being raped, and this makes her blame herself too. Seeking redress is both a social and legal issue. Women encounter a lot of challenges while seeking justice. The problems range from social challenges, legal challenges to financial difficulties. Women are forced to live in fear of being raped, and they resort to means of self-protection while men, on the other hand, take advantage of the weakness of women, since society and at times the law may favor them when it comes to rape. Indeed rape is a conscious process of intimidation by which all men keep all women in a state of fear.
References
Dellinger Page, A. (2010). True Colors: Police Officers and Rape Myth Acceptance. Feminist Criminology, 5(4), 315–334. https://doi.org/10.1177/1557085110384108
Hayes, R. M., Lorenz, K., & Bell, K. A. (2013). Victim Blaming Others: Rape Myth Acceptance and the Just World Belief. Feminist Criminology, 8(3), 202–220. https://doi.org/10.1177/1557085113484788
Hayes-Smith, R. M., & Levett, L. M. (2010). Student Perceptions of Sexual Assault Resources and Prevalence of Rape Myth Attitudes. Feminist Criminology, 5(4), 335–354. https://doi.org/10.1177/1557085110387581
Larcombe, W. (2011). Falling Rape Conviction Rates: (Some) Feminist Aims and Measures for Rape Law. Feminist Legal Studies, 19(1), 27–45. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10691-011-9169-2
Suzuki, Y. (2014). Rape: Theories of. The Encyclopedia of Theoretical Criminology, 1–3.
Thacker, L. K. (2017). Rape Culture, Victim Blaming, and the Role of Media in the Criminal Justice System. Kentucky Journal of Undergraduate Scholarship, 1(1), 8.
Whisnant, R. (2009). Feminist perspectives on rape.