UNTITLED

    Since the beginning of time man has conducted his life by acting first and thinking later.  While some would say that humans are the most rational beings on earth, a contradiction is revealed by everyday life.  Some type of authority is required for all because mankind is so irrational.  For instance, millions of innocents were killed in death camps simply because one man commanded it to happen.  People lose sight of the right way to do things all the time.  If only people would weigh the harm against the good, maybe such high crime rates would not exist.  If people were rational beings, then crime would not be such a big deal.  In a word, the ideas of rational versus irrational could provide a theory of crime.  This paper will explore the idea that crime is due to the irrational nature of man.

    Violent crime is an serious problem in this world of that grants so many freedoms. Men kill their families, rob their neighbors, and even blow up buildings with thousands inside. However, with all these freedoms, it seems that some men do not feel that women have the right to say no. As a result
of this, date rape has become an increasing problem. Date rape can be defined as rape committed by someone known to the victim. In some cases, the victim has had some type of prior sexual relationship. The majority of sexual assaults are directed toward females between the ages of sixteen and twenty-four (Fisher, Daigle, & Cullen, 2003). I think that violent crime is a result of people acting before they think. Some people let the heat of passion override their rational side, and as an effect crime is committed.

Literature Review

    When the people think of date rape, they often think of date rape drugs.  However, date rape is not always drug-induced, like some people may think. Date rape is often an act committed by a boyfriend, past or present. When an acquaintance or friend rapes a woman, sometimes it is easier to rationalize why this happened by blaming the victim. Cassidy and Rose (1995) conducted a study in which they showed vignettes illustrating date rapes. Subjects that saw the victims in provocative clothing were more likely than subjects who saw the victim dressed conservatively, or saw no photograph at all, to report that the victim was responsible for her assailant’s attack. They also reported that the aggressor’s behavior was justified and they were less likely to see the attack as an unwanted act. People often blame victims of sexual assaults for being at places where they should not have been. For example, if a victim had decided not to enter the attacker’s apartment, then
she would not have been raped. The truth is that no one knows exactly what triggers date rape. However, there are many studies and theories that provide information on some factors involved in such a violent act.  Abramovitz (2001) implied that date rape can be avoided if people steer clear of parties where drinking occurs, and watch their drinks at all times. From his perspective, drinking at parties causes date rape. Schwartz, Milteer, and LeBeau (2000) found that there is an increase in the reported drug-facilitated rapes among young adults that attend nightclubs, raves, and social parties. Meadows (2001) felt that going on double dates, avoiding drinking and illegal drug use, staying away from unfamiliar places, and terminating dangerous relationships could help prevent rape violence. Some people use date rape drugs, such as alcohol and marijuana, commonly without
realizing it (Weir, 2001). Meadows also implies that co-habitation that  occurs in dorms may contribute to date rape’s high occurrence on campus.

    Sawyer, Thompson, and Chicorelli (2002) identified fraternity members and athletes as high-risk aggressors. This statement may caution women to be more alert around people with aggressive personalities. Shamsian (1999) found that recreational Rohypnol use increased the odds that women would be taken advantage of in their altered mental state. This altered state happens Rohypnol produces sedation, a feeling of well being, and short-term memory loss (Meadows, 2001). While some women do not lose consciousness, they lose the power to fight off the attacker. Date rape has a tremendous impact on its victims. Sometimes victims recover from the damage done by these
violent acts, but others never fully recover at all. The consequences of date rape include pregnancy, cuts and bruises, broken bones, severe trauma, and sexually transmitted diseases (Sgarzi & McDevitt, 2003). The impact of rape is not always in a physical form. The emotional or psychological effects show up in forms of depression, sleep disorders, anxiety attacks, fear, and withdrawal from social interaction (Sgarzi &McDevitt, 2003). There is a lot of literature provided on the issue of date rape, but there is a gap. Therefore, I plan to focus on the psychological state of the
aggressor and try to determine whether or not a rational human being can commit rape. I would also like to add the motivation behind the attack.

Research Methods

The table above shows rape statistics for cities in Arizona with a population of 100,000 or above. The statistics are not always exact because a lot of rapes go unreported or can not be proven.

Table - Comparison of sexual assault data collection methods

Above is a table showing the different data collection methods of sexual assault collection (Arizona Rape and Sexual Assault Surveillance Project, 1998)

Table - Selected National Crime Victimization Survey Statistics

Source: Greenfeld 1997.

The table above shows the number of rape victims in the United States each year. It also provides information such as the number of rape victims that required medical assistance and things like how many of the assailants were strangers.

Summary and Conclusions

From a criminologist perspective, rape is an act regarded as a violent crime more often than it is classified as a sexual offense.  Most rapists are found to be power driven and angry.  They do not seek pleasure from the sexual intercourse part of the rape, but from the force that achieves the rape and the power they exert (Brown, Esbensen, & Geis, 1991).   Some women believe that rape follows the traditions of society were the man is powerful and dominates over women.  Society portrays the idea that women are inferior and helpless and women were once thought of as only property of their husbands.  Most rapes are hard to prove especially when the offender is someone they know.  Date rape is defined as rape committed by someone known to the victim, especially by the victim’s social companion (Garner, 2000).  People may not realize that sex is an act that can be stopped at any time, even if both parties gave consent in the beginning.  Therefore, any act beyond “no” is rape.  College campuses have high occurrences of date rape.  Some may believe that this behavior is due to high alcohol consumption by college students.  Others attribute the high date rape percentages to the aggressiveness of fraternity members.  Then, there is the belief that men and women do not know how to live in close proximity without some kind of sexual misbehavior occurring.  When psychologists get inside the mind and personality of the rapist, they find that men are desperate for ways to feel superior.  There is not one theory that can explain why abuse, sexual or not, occurs in relationships.  However, it is believed that the explanations may fit into one of the three classifications.  Psychopathology theory is when the aggressor has mental illness and is also suffering from some addiction.  Here the victim receives the anger given off by the target.  Feminist theory says that the offender is acting dominant because society has socialized him to be that way.  Another therapy is learning theory where the offender has learned behavior during childhood from someone else.  A large number of rapes go unreported because the victim either feels ashamed, thinks that no one can do anything about the act, or fear that the offender will harm them again.  Many criminologist feel that gender inequality has a lot to do with the rate of sex crimes.   It is difficult for victims to come to terms with the wrong done to them, but if rapes go unreported then the offender is free to hurt someone else.  

References

Abramovitz, Melissa. (2001). The Knockout Punch of Date Rape Drugs. Vol. 27,
p.18-22.

Cassidy, Linda & Hurell, Rose Marie. (1995). The influence of victim’s
attire on adolescent’s judgement of date rape. Adolescence, Vol. 30,
p.319-324.

Fisher, Bonnie S; Daigle, Leah E; Cullen, Francis T; & Turner, Michael G.
(2003). Reporting Sexual Victimization to the Police and Others: Results
from a National Level Study of College Women, Vol. 30, p.6-38.

Meadows, Robert J. (2001). Understanding Violence & Victimization, (2nd
edition). New Jersery, Prentice Hall.

Sawyer, Robin G; Thompson, Estina E; & Chicorelli, Anne Marie. (2002). Rape
Myth Acceptance Among Intercollegiate Student Atheletes: A Preliminary
Examination. American Journal of Health, Vol. 18, p.19-26. Schwartz, Richard H; Miteer, Regina; & LeBeau, Marc A. (1993).

Drug-Facilitated S Sexual Assault (‘Date Rape’). Southern Medical Journal,
Vol. 93, p.558-562.

Sgarzi, Judith M. & McDevitt, Jack. (2003). Victimology: A Study of Crime
Victims and Their Roles, New Jersey, Prentice Hall.

Shamsian, Negin. (1999). Study suggests recreational use of ‘date rape’ drug
by women. Student BMJ. Vol. 7, p.7

Weir, Erica. (2001). Drug-facilitated date rape. Canadian Medical
Association Journal,
Vol. 165, p.80.
 

Last updated: 11/10/03