Date Rape
Introduction
Date Rape, commonly known as acquaintance rape, is a term described by the physical forceful engagement of a victim into unwanted sexual activity by a known person. It could be a peer through violence, misuse of authority, verbal manipulation, or even a romantically involved partner. It often takes place between two acquainted people in the context of a potential romantic or sexual relationship, wherein the assailant intoxicates the victim by alcohol or any other drugs, making them incapable of granting consent.
The concept of date rape is rather new. By and large, date rape has been viewed as less genuine than an assault by a stranger. For a long time being assaulted by non-strangers went unnoticed and was not regarded as an “actual rape” by society or law. Since the 1980s, it has comprised most assaults in certain nations. It has continually been an issue including society’s mentality towards women and as a type of atrocity against women. It is debatable, nonetheless, as some people find the issue exaggerated and that a lot of victims were willing, consenting individuals; while others accept that date rapes are generally underreported and practically all women who guaranteed being date raped were assaulted.
American researcher Mary Koss describes date rape as a specific form of acquaintance rape, in which there has been some level of romantic interest between the perpetrator and the victim, and in which sexual activity would have been generally seen as appropriate, if consensual. Acquaintance rape is an umbrella term under which falls various kinds of relationships including employer-employee, landlord-tenant, service provider-consumer, driver-hitchhiker, and rape among people who have a family relationship or who are neighbors.
- In his 1992 book Sex and Reason, American jurist, legal theorist, and economist Richard Posner characterized the increased attention being given to date rape as a sign of the changing status of women in American society, pointing out that dating itself is a feature of modern societies and that date rape can be expected to be frequent in a society in which sexual morals vary between the permissive and the repressive. In Sara Alcid’s 2013 article “Navigating Consent: Debunking the ‘Gray Area’ Myth“, she argues that dating is incorrectly believed to mean “a permanent state of consenting to sex”.
Medical Definition Of Date Rape
The deliberate attempt of incapacitating an individual obscurely by intake of drugs or sleep-inducing substances into physical manipulation of having non-consensual sex with the assailant is medically termed as Date Rape. In spite of the fact that there are numerous conceivable date rape situations, in a typical one, the man attempts to debilitate the female partner by exerting excessive mental tension upon her or by employing her with liquor or even drugs without her knowledge and afterward subjugating to have sexual intercourse. At times the lady has no memory of the assault due to the impact of liquor or the medication or even the traumatic nature of the event itself.
A number of date rapists have frequently used sleeping pills to steady their victims before the attack and consolidated marijuana, cocaine, and heroin into liquor to make the effects long-lasting.
Date or acquaintance rape is a repeated occurrence among young adults, as they possess little or no sexual experience and find it hard to distinguish the line of limits. Many people feel embarrassed, humiliated and under constant psychological pressure to not report the crime and themselves feel responsible for the attack. Research has shown that one in five women and one in twenty men have endured sexual violence and molestation since their teenage.
Date Rape Drugs And Side Effects
Date rape drugs are drugs used to make rape or sexual attack easier on the victim by sedation. Alcohol is used for this purpose often, and date rape pills may also be added to your drink unnoticed. Drugs or alcohol could make someone less aware of what’s happening to them, leaving them incapable of protecting themselves from undesirable sexual contact, and unable to recall what happened. Nearly eleven million girls within the United States were raped while drunk, drugged, or high.
The most common drugs assailants use are Rohypnol (flunitrazepam), GHB (gamma-hydroxybutyric acid), ketamine, and alcohol. Supplementing alcohol with these pills makes the victim more vulnerable and unlikely to remember all or no events, which may cause doubt and suspicion on their part and escape for the attacker easier from blame in the future. These drugs also go by the name – “club drugs”.
1. Rohypnol (flunitrazepam) is a type of tranquilizer, also known as Mexican Valium, circles, roofies, la Rocha, Roche, R2, rope, and forget-me pill. It is legally unavailable in the United States and used occasionally by doctors in other countries as anesthesia before surgery. Rohypnol is a colorless and odorless pill that starts reacting within 30 minutes and lasts about 2 hours after it’s taken. As little as a milligram can affect you for 8 to 12 hours. Its short-term effects include dizziness, blurred vision, and blackouts. and long-term effects can cause trouble controlling your muscles, amnesia, loss of inhibitions, and loss of consciousness. Earlier, it used to come as white tablets but now manufacturers make it as a green pill with a blue core inside, so when it’s poured in a clear drink it will turn blue.
2. GHB (Gamma-hydroxybutyric acid), also called liquid ecstasy, is a liquid that can be dissolved along with other liquids which have no smell or taste, making it undetectable by the victim. It also comes in powder form. The effects start in 15 to 30 minutes and last 3 to 6 hours. Its short-term effects are drowsiness, forgetfulness, feelings of relaxation or lethargy, and long-term effects include seizures, slow heartbeat, slow breathing rate, headaches, confusion or agitation, and coma.
3. Ketamine, commonly known as Special K, cat valium, k-hole or purple, is a dissociative anesthetic that recedes a person into an unconscious state and detaches from the surrounding environment. It is used in medical surgeries on humans as well as animals. It is in the form of liquid or powder that is odorless and colorless. It causes nausea or vomiting, high blood pressure, changes in your heart rate, seizures, or a coma. It usually takes effect within 30 minutes and lasts an hour or two. But one can be affected for a day or more.
Alcohol destabilizes the functioning of your brain especially the region of judgement and inhibition making the person more relaxed, confident and talkative. It usually starts to work within a few minutes and high intake may result in a coma lasting for a day.
All the aforementioned drugs have one common symptom – lowering your defences. It takes around 20-30 minutes for each of them to take effect that lasts approximately 30 hours. This is the window when an attack takes place. Each one of them renders the person vulnerable by impairing cognition, clouding judgement and reducing reaction time. As horrid as it seems, one can take a few precautions to dodge such situations when faced in reality.
Try to be in a group when entering a club or bar and stick to each other all the time. Safety increases with numbers.
Always pour your own drinks and make sure to hold on to them at any cost, even if you have to go to the bathroom.
Avoid open containers and do not drink anything that tastes strange.
Never accept drinks from strangers and look out for yourself and other members of your group.
If you start feeling dizzy, or weird about your body tell a friend and demand to leave at once.
- Remember, the person who rapes is a criminal and it is never your fault. The offender should be punished by law so inform the respective authorities immediately after any such incident. The sooner you will talk about it, the easier it will be to catch the responsible person. Hire a counselor who will help the victim cope with it. It is natural to go through a range of emotions after a traumatic event.
After Effects On Victims
The occurrence of date rapes and attempted date rapes are higher in countries, such as American and European countries, where casual and pre-marital sex is recognized compared to countries in Asia and the middle-east where there are restrictions on the individual sex lives. According to research by RAINN, 12-34 is the age group of women that is 54% more vulnerable to date rapes than other age groups. Females in this age bracket is, in general, more likely to be the victims of sexual violence, rapes, or attempted assaults.
Although date rape is viewed as a terrible, horrendous, and ground-breaking experience, research suggests, the absence of help is a component that becomes a deciding factor in the healing process from casualties for a victim. They would not uncover any data about the rape to other people, particularly assuming they have encountered date or acquaintance rape because of self-embarrassment and self-fault sentiments.
The possibility of suffering from severe distress, agitation, contemplating or attempting suicide after rape is apparent for the victim. Abhorrent and unsettling feelings about oneself are common to take place. In the majority of the cases, it is the kind of relationship that victim and offender share that determines the intercourse as rape or consensual sex. The more sexually involved, the less likely to be characterized as an act of violence. Moreover, thanks to our prejudiced, biased, and blindly stereotyped society that straightaway condemns the female to be wrong on moral grounds, presuming she provoked another person into such act of heinous crime. Women are often targeted by their type of clothing, demeanour, and nature of speech.
In a survey conducted by the Department of Justice, it is estimated that 94% of women who have raped experience symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) during the two weeks following the rape. 30% of women report symptoms of PTSD nine months after the rape. 33% of women who are raped contemplate suicide.13% of women who are raped attempt suicide. Approximately 70% of rape or sexual assault victims experience moderate to severe distress, a larger percentage than for any other violent crime.
Likewise, her relationship with family members, friends, and co-workers is also affected. The Department of Justice has stated that 38% of victims of sexual violence experience work or school problems, which can include significant problems with a boss, co-worker, or peer. 37% experience family or friend problems, including getting into arguments more frequently than before, not feeling able to trust their family/friends, or not feeling as close to them as before the crime. 84% of survivors who were victimized by an intimate partner experience professional or emotional issues, or increased problems at work or school. 79% of survivors who were victimized by a family member, close friend or acquaintance experience professional or emotional issues, including moderate to severe distress, or increased problems at work or school. 67% of survivors who were victimized by a stranger experience professional or emotional issues, or increased problems at work or school.
Reason And Motivation Of Perpetrators
Notwithstanding expanding interest in the subject of rape, the issue stays questionable. Specifically, there are contrasting perspectives about the motivation of the perpetrator. Asha M. Yourell in her research paper, The Motivations Underlying Male Rape of Women, explained, the motivations for rape have been perceived as sexual gratification, aggression, and an extension of the traditional male sex role involving aggression and sexual expression. The motives are examined with relation to six different forms of rape: namely, Random Blitz, Specific Blitz, Pack/Ceremonial, White Collar, Friendship, and Family rapes. The use of force is the main characters present during all six different forms of rape, suggesting that aggression is the primary motivation for rape. Bandura’s Social Learning Theory is then used to endeavor to clarify these connections. It is presumed that most of the attackers are persuaded by hostility consolidating power, acknowledgment of brutality, vengeance, and outrage. They are additionally spurred by a mix of animosity and sexual articulation coming about because of an expansion of the conventional male sex role. Bandura’s hypothesis gives a persuading clarification to the forceful and sex-role thought processes in the assault. The proof proposes that assault is a pseudo-sexual act, invigorated principally by hostility, and not by a longing for sexual delight.
A sexual offender can be any type of person. This statement is not intended to make you frightened of everybody; rather, it only suggests that there isn’t any particular kind of person who commits this kind of dreadful crime.
Dr. Samuel D. Smithyman, a US clinical psychologist, learned when he anonymously interviewed 50 men back in the 1970s who had confessed to having raped someone. These men had diverse backgrounds, social statuses and, of course, different personalities and mentalities. What surprised him was how unconcerned they sounded when talking about such a criminal offense.
Motives behind rape vary and are difficult to quantify. However, studies show that rapists have some common characteristics including a lack of empathy, narcissism, and feelings of hostility towards women.
Toxic Masculinity plays a crucial role in promoting rape culture around the globe regardless of race, ethnicity, culture, language or region. The editor of the American Psychological Association’s journal Psychology of Violence, Hamby described “A lot of offenders of rape and other sexual assaults are young men, [and] the only way to have social status among male peers in many cases is to be highly sexually experienced, and not being sexually active is often stigmatized.” She added, “Many are just in absolute panic they’re going to be discovered as not sexually experienced by their peers.”
At the end of the day, there are components working in certain societies, and frequently even in media, that propose to these men that they ought to declare predominance over women as a type of fake masculinity, and deride the people who have very little sexual experiences.
In a research study by Randy Thornhill and Craig Parmer, they argued that rape evolved to increase successive reproduction of men. Hypothesis reveal motivation of rape was derived from the need to reproduce explaining the target group of women in the childbearing age. However, this study was later criticized by the science journal saying it was misleading, biased, and “equally support alternative explanation”.
A number of scientists and feminists believe the inspiration behind rape comes from the urge to dominate and control and could also be driven by hatred or hostility towards women. Many people think of women as sex objects who are there to gratify them. A social psychologist at Wayne State University wrote that one repeat sexual offender said: “[Women] just play hard to get. They say ‘no’ at first [and] you have to persist to determine if she really means it.” This offender described both his rape experiences as “titillating” “powerful”, and “very exciting”. Sherry Hamby told DW that in some cultures, patriarchy and dominance are expressed through a kind of “dehumanization” in which women are seen as inferior beings to men. This makes it much easier for women to become the targets of aggression. According to Hamby, for men in such cultures, “part of their cultural training is for them to lose touch with their emotions.” They do not know how to deal with their own feelings and even worse, they are not aware of the feelings of others or simply do not care. The connection between narcissism and rape is by all accounts particularly solid when habitual perpetrators are concerned. One of the key qualities shared by attackers and narcissists is an inclination to dehumanize others.
Rapists often deny having raped their victims and frequently try to justify their actions. Men who admit rape often try to find excuses for what they have done. Rape is an indefensible demonstration of viciousness and a criminal offense. Tragically, a lot of victims stay quiet to not get slandered and accused by society, while their attackers are free to trap a new victim.
Law And Punishment
Rape is often explained or excused as a manifestation of racial, ethnic, and class hatred or as stemming from a patriarchal system in which women are considered the property of men. Rape is a serious criminal offence and is treated as a felony in most countries with similar judicial frameworks. In many rape trials, the guilt or innocence of the accused hinges on whether or not the victim consented to sexual intercourse. The determination of consent can usually lead to distressing cross-examinations of rape victims in court. As a result, many rape victims choose not to report the crime to the police or refuse to press charges against their assailants.
For example, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, an office within the U.S. Department of Justice, less than one-quarter of rapes or sexual assaults in the country were reported to police in 2016. Even when brought to trial, those charged with rape have a higher-than-average rate of acquittal, mainly because it is difficult to prove a crime for which there are usually no third-party witnesses and because the testimony of women often may be given less credence than that of men. Rape is thus both underreported and under prosecuted. To safeguard women from humiliating cross-examination, many law systems have adopted rape shield laws, which limit the capacity of the respondent’s direction to present the informer’s sexual history as proof.
According to Indian Penal Code, Section 376, Whoever being a relative, guardian or teacher of, or a person in a position of trust or authority towards the woman, commits rape on such woman; or commits rape, on a woman incapable of giving consent; or being in a position of control or dominance over a woman, commits rape on such woman; or commits rape on a woman suffering from mental or physical disability; or while committing rape causes grievous bodily harm or maims or disfigures or endangers the life of a woman, or commits rape repeatedly on the same woman, shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than ten years, but which may extend to imprisonment for life, which shall mean imprisonment for the remainder of that person’s natural life, and shall also be liable to fine.
Whoever commits rape on a woman under sixteen years of age shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than twenty years, but which may extend to imprisonment for life, which shall mean imprisonment for the remainder of that person’s natural life, and shall also be liable to fine. [Provided that such fine shall be just and reasonable to meet the medical expenses and rehabilitation of the victim. Provided further that any fine imposed under this subsection shall be paid to the victim.]
Numerous countries practice death sentence as a punishment against rape such as India, Iran, Afghanistan and Egypt (hanged to death), China (castration), Saudi Arabia (beheading), North Korea (firing squad); some countries sentence imprisonment up to 20 years which are: Norway (4-15 years), Russia (3-20 years), Israel (16 years), and in the United States imprisonment for life. Depending on the severity of harm caused to the victim, the accused may even get life imprisonment in India as well. However, a study made by the U.S. Department of Justice of prison releases in 1992, involving about 80 percent of the prison population, found that the average sentence for convicted rapists was 9.8 years, while the actual time served was 5.4 years. This follows the typical pattern of violent crimes in the US, where those convicted typically serve no more than half of their sentence.
Between 2002 and 2003, more than one in ten convicted rapists in Victoria, Australia, served a wholly suspended sentence, and the average total effective sentence for rape was seven years. In the Republic of Ireland, the average sentence given for rape is 5 – 7 years.
Conclusion
- Rape and the repercussions of rape for the victim are brutal, no doubt and as far as the treatment by society towards these afflicted people goes – it’s apathetic. After a victim courageously speaks up and demands justice, what we as a society do to them is just commendable compared to what the assailant did – victim blaming, honor killing and slut-shaming. This is just not it. In some cultures, the victim and sometimes the family members are prodded to commit suicide in order to restore honor and order in the society. Most of the time it is the victim who voluntarily decides to end her life to not get her family into trouble by other people. Nonetheless, how barbaric this crime seems, it is the victim paying price for a deed she suffered from. As a society, we should come together and offer, if not help, then at least condolences to the victim and their family in a time like this. If you can’t make it better then don’t make it harder.
Top 13 Facts About Date Rape
Date (or acquaintance) rape is defined as forced, unwanted intercourse with a person you know.
It can occur with someone you’ve just met, dated a few times or may even be engaged to.
Date rape drugs can make people become physically weak or pass out. This is why people who want to rape someone use them—because they leave individuals unable to protect themselves.
The three most common date rape drugs are Rohypnol (flunitrazepam), GHB (gamma-hydroxybutyric acid), and ketamine.
Many of these drugs have no color, smell, or taste, and people often do not know that they’ve taken anything. Many times people who have been drugged (usually girls or women, but not always) are unable to remember what happened to them.
B.I. has stated in one of their reports, in which 33% of men said they would date rape someone if it could go undetected.
According to RAINN, one out of every six women has been the victim of attempted or completed rape in her lifetime.
Men can also be raped. One in ten men has been raped in the United States.
Ketamine can cause hallucinations and make people feel totally out of it.
84% of women who were date raped knew their attacker.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, 16-24 is the age group of women that is four times more likely to get date-raped.
Before FDA banned GHB in 1990, it was used for medical purposes to treat narcolepsy.
Date rape is an act of violence and is considered a felony offence by most states.
