Why Rape

One of the most explored topics in today’s society is rape. Police work vigorously trying to keep the number of sex crimes down to a minimum. Police agencies are working to the maximum to find the individuals who commit this crime. Thus society gets a first hand look at the strategies police department use. They use these strategies to educate women on rape, and offer steps to avoid as well as grow from the trauma of this event occurring in one’s life. This paper will reflect the theories behind rape and the actions of law enforcement when dealing with the issue of rape.

Rape is when a man forces a woman to have sexual intercourse with him. Police have made it clear to watch out for the warning signs, such as: some one sitting or standing too close to you, and who seems to enjoy your discomfort, staring at you, blocking your way, speaking to you or acting in a way as if he knows you more intimately than he should. Police departments have made it clear that they are researching ways to drop the rate of rapes. One way they can be successful is by having communities who support the movement to stop this crime.

Society wonders if they have a part in crimes such as rape. Some theories in criminology believe that criminality is a function of individual socialization, and how their experiences or relationships with others have influenced individuals (O’Connor 2002). Rape is in its very essence a sexual act, and may have evolved because it passes on an “evolutionary advantage.” Essentially studies say that all men are rapists, they are nothing more than their biology, such as a lion attacking his mate. (Brown)

Socio-biologists explain rape of women by men with evolutionary perspectives. Men do it to gain sexual access to desirable mates to pass on their genes to the next generation. Psychologist and Anthropologist have found that rapist do not commit these acts solely because of genetic purposes. Stages of built up rage, frustrations, and extreme psychotic conditions along with a macho-sexist attitude causes rape. Theorist believe that these men feel they have the right to control and to punish their female victims who don’t conform to their ideals of how women should act. In their mind, rape is a good lesson for women. This view of rapist shows a skewed balance of power. It is not the result of evolution itself, but more so because society has made women second class citizens in the game of life (Vetten ).

On another note, the police departments take this information and use it to assist in their cases. The information above is all relevant when dealing with the way in which the police department enforces their power. A senior detective deals with sexual assault of adults. The Child Protection Unit deals with sexual abuse of anyone under seventeen. The Domestic Violence Unit may deal with assault by a partner/ex-partner. Any of these offences can initially be reported at a police station where the officer on duty will arrange for you to be seen by the appropriate team.

The police department has several guides that they give to victims to help them along with making a complaint. The first step is to report the incident to the police as soon as possible; this may assist in the early capture of your attacker. Medical evidence ideally needs to be collected within 48 hours of the attack, but can be collected many days later. Second, don’t wash or change your clothes- by doing so you could be destroying vital forensic evidence. Many women feel and overwhelming desire to was and scrub their body after an assault. If you have instinctively washed, don’t worry, you can still press charges, but let the police know. Third, don’t try to take a change of clothes, the police may keep your clothing for evidence. They will, however, assist in obtaining other clothing and provide a pack of toiletries, which includes underwear.

Last but not least do not take any alcohol or drugs prior to reporting as this will probably be detected and could be used against you in court. Know these are four rules that police departments use to guide their victims. They use these guidelines to help maintain the way in which they investigate the crime, and have found it to be very effective. Police agencies advise you to have someone with you for support, because this is a traumatic situation.

Once the victim has reported the rape, a specially trained police officer will be appointed to “chaperone” the victim. The chaperone can be male, or female, usually a female is requested. They take the individual to the rape suite. Their role includes advising the victim of the procedures at the police station and at Court. An examination takes place usually after making a statement to the police. The statement usually is a demanding experience because the police will be asking many detailed questions.

The examination will determine if the rape victim needs medical attention. They also look for evidence, which may require a doctor to take various samples of saliva, urine, blood and pubic hair, and swabs from the mouth, rectum and vagina. The examination may fell intrusive but it should only last for fifteen minutes. Most police departments may also want to take a photograph of any injuries sustained in the attack. Police departments make sure to ensure the victim that these precautions are for their safety.

There are several key points to remember when dealing with a rape victim. Police departments continue to inform their communities of how to help convict a rapist. Some of the factors that you can remember will be to inform the police of the kind of car the rapist has. What their race, age, weight, and height are, and hair color and length. Simple things such as the kind of clothes they are wearing and details of unusual marks, scars, tattoos, rings can help convict a rapist. The police department investigates all of these factors.

Rape is truly an important issue in our society. With the police and society working together, a remedy can be put into effect to help end this horrendous act.

It is very important to keep in mind the statistics involving women who encounter rape. The police department relies not only on investigation, but on actual information on how and when women are raped. While researching the reasons why men rape women, I found many articles and statistical data that gives detailed analysis of the problem. Being that this issue is wide spread, I thought that a look into the circumstances as to why and who they rape would be helpful to the report. The research plan is as follows:

According to U.S. Department of Justice, somewhere in America a woman is raped every 2 minutes

In 1996, 307,000 women were the victim of sexual assault, attempted rape, or rape

2/3 of rape victims are under the age of 18

29% of female victims reported that the offender was a stranger

About 81% of rape victims are white, 18% black, 1% are of other races

Those with household income un $7,500 were twice as likely to be raped

The incidence of rape, attempted rape, and sexual assault decreased more than 17% between'95 & '96

Women annually reported about 500,000 rapes and sexual assaults

Broken down by race, sex, adult, and juvenile. Numbers account for rape, attempted rape, and statutory rape (without force).

CRIME	RACE	SEX	AGE	NUMBERS
rape	white	female	adult	184
rape	white	female	juvenile	179
rape	white	male	juvenile	3
rape	black	female	adult	2
rape	indian	female	adult	2
rape	indian	female	juvenile	2
rape	asian	female	juvenile	2
rape	unknown	female	juvenile	2

It is also very import to learn how the age groups are targeted by rapist. This graph represents the ages of 12years until 25 years old. The percentages are unbelievable, especially when you think about the ages of the individuals. The next two graphs represent who the rapist are. With this information the police agencies are able to be more accurate with the helpful information the give rape victims.

The relative power of men compared to that of women is profoundly affected by sexist violence against women. Men have, and do use, this violence to get or keep control of women as a display of power. More than the individual exchange is affected; the power of all men over women is increased. Virtually every woman fears male violence at some time.

Because we know to fear sexist attack, the other tactics that men use to get what they want are more forceful than they otherwise would be. When a man puts his fist through the wall when he is angry, the woman that he is angry with is anxious that he not get that angry - she could be his next target. The verbal abuse or angry silence of a lover may be motivation for her to comply with what he wants. How far will he go if she doesn't? And even when she thinks he won't be physically violent, we know it is because he is choosing not to... and we can only be sure of this time.

On the street, when a man is walking behind a woman, she has to assess whether or not she is being followed and plan how to fight hack or escape. Usually it is a man walking too close to her, oblivious of her fear. But sometimes it's not, and there are no guarantees. When women call the crisis line after an assault, their reaction is frequently "What did I do wrong?" She weighs and measures what she will do to protect herself and is left with the knowledge that she can decrease her chances with common sense but ultimately she cannot control whether or not she is safe. The reality of male violence against women is too disturbing for many people to believe. No woman wants the fear of rape to interfere with her life or that of her daughters and friends. Many women hold fiercely to the belief that we can and will have control.

Rainn is a national program that also support women who have been rapped. This is a brief overview of what informationl data they have since 1999.Rape and Sexual Assault Up Again in 1999, Continue to Buck National Crime Trend . Sex Crimes Still Down 1/3 Since 1993, But Up Since 1995. According to the 1999 National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) just released by the US Department of Justice, the total number of rapes, attempted rapes and sexual assaults increased to 383,000 last year, up 50,000 from 1998's 333,000 total attacks. The number of completed rapes increased by about 30,000, while the number of attempted rapes declined by about the same number. The number of sexual assaults rose by 50,000. Overall totals increased by 13.3%.

The annual NCVS, considered the country's most accurate crime gauge, is based on interviews with 77,750 people age 12 and older. NCVS does not count assaults on children under age 12, but does count all other crimes, whether or not the victim reported the attack to the police. While NCVS is the nation's largest crime survey, there are still relatively few rape victims in its sample. Thus, data are most reliable in showing trends over several years. Researchers at the Bureau of Justice Statistics, which conducts the survey, caution that they have less confidence in data for any individual year or for demographic subgroups, because of the small sample size.

Despite last year's increase, sex crimes have fallen by about one-third since 1993, the year NCVS was overhauled to better account for rapes and sexual assaults. Total rapes and sexual assaults have fallen 32% since 1993, with completed rapes down 40%. However, most of the decrease came between 1993-1995. Since 1996, the trend has reversed--rapes and sexual assaults have actually increased as other violent crimes keep falling. The combined total of completed and attempted rapes and sexual assaults has gone up by 21% since 1996, while sexual assault is up by 60%. The increase in rape in 1999 bucked the national trend, which showed total violent crime dropping by 10% across the nation. Some other findings from the 1999 NCVS (figures combine completed and attempted rapes and sexual assaults):

69% of victims knew their assailant, versus 54% for victims of all violent crimes.

A weapon was present in only 5% of rapes. In those cases, the weapon was equally likely to be a gun or knife.

Rape is the most underreported violent crime. 28.3% of rapes were reported to police in 1999, down from 31.6% in 1998. Among all violent crimes, 44% of victims reported their attack to police.

About 89 percent of victims were female, 11 percent male. Of every 1000 women 12 and over, 3.0 were sexually assaulted or raped last year. For men, the rate was 0.4 per 1000.

Young women and poor women continued to be far more at risk of an attack than any other demographic group.

For every thousand people 12 and over (male and female), 1.7 suffered a sexual attack last year. Among teens 16-19, 6.9 per 1000 were sex crime victims, with rates remaining high for people 24 and under. For those age 35 and older, the rate of attack plummets to less than one person per 1,000.

People living in households with an income under $25,000 are about three times more likely to be sexually attacked than those living in households making more than $25,000.

Blacks were more likely to be raped than whites--2.6 per 1,000 people versus 1.6 per 1,000, respectively.

    As stated in the beginning rape is one of the most explored topics in today's society. Police work beyond the call of duty to help minimize the numbers of rapes that are actually committed. In my research I found statistics supported Police agencies in proving that they really care about how society deals with crimes such as this one. Police officer truly want to find the individuals who rape.
    Thus society gets a first hand look at the strategies police department use. For the first time rape kits are being used more frequently than in the past. Women are also coming forth at a larger rates than in the past to report the crime. This is because they feel safe, and are insured that the Police department has their best interest at hand. They use these strategies to educate women on rape, and offer steps to avoid as well as grow from the trauma of this event occurring in one's life. Groups such as Rainn have been developed to continue the support of women, and society for that matter to end rape. They stand together as a force that will not be broken when used in the correct form. Which would be to help those who have been victimized, and to help to prevent more rapes. Other groups also support those victims , and also introduce the fact that men also are being rapped.
    I think that the police agencies have really been working hard to support our nation. Depending on the environment in which you live , the crime rate varies. In most instances it is important to understand that society has a hard time understanding that men can also be raped. But in this changing world women, as well as men have come hand and hand in the battle to end this crime. And thankfully because of our police agencies the ratios are beginning to take a turn for the better. This paper has reflected the history of rape and the actions of law enforcement use when dealing with the issue of rape. I believe that this research is only the beginning to a solution to ending this crisis. Rape is real, and it can only cease when our nation pulls together and supports our police agencies in finding these individuals.

[Comments: I note that you redid part 1 when you submitted part 2. You still need to submit part 3. You're a little short on references, and I'd like to see you turn this into a research paper.] [Comments: Part 3 appears done. You have a few one sentence paragraphs, but have significantly added to the paper. Wrap it up with a Part 4.] {Comments: Part 4 added. You might want to think about adding some non-Internet references}

The Crisis Of Rape And The Police