Yep, that’s a real figure. Not kidding, not exaggerating. Tara Culp-Ressler had a piece summarizing the
report on ThinkProgress, and I’m using her article more than the others I’ve read where the
articles were brief, also the actually report is pretty lengthy.
The United Nations published a pretty hefty study on the roots of sexual
violence across six countries (Bangladesh, China, Cambodia, Indonesia, Papua
New Guinea, and Sri Lanka) and lasted two years that included 10,000 men. Take minute
and think about how involved that had to be. I really like research just a
reminder methods matter. The study was the largest scientific project on
the subject so far, and the specific aim was to investigate the
“under-research” area of male-perpetrated rape. The study found that on average
one in ten men living in the areas covered by the study admitted to raping someone
in their lives, this excludes partners because the figure gets hella
scarier when partners are included. Of course, the regional attitudes within
Southeastern Asia about sexuality are going to influence the results. However
there are some striking things that come out of the study with some
generalizable results.
First many people don’t actually
know what rape is. The researchers intentionally opted not to use the word
“rape” in their questionnaires about Asian men’s sexual histories. Instead the
questions asked specific questions about the situations sex occurred such as
have they ever “forced a woman who was not your wife or girlfriend at the time
to have sex” and have they ever “had sex with a woman who was too drunk or
drugged to indicate whether she wanted it.” This most likely helped the
researchers get accurate information from the men being interviewed.
Culp-Ressler notes that lines of consent aren’t often learned and as a result
people don’t know when they are violating someone and they might not believe
they committed rape. Michele Decker, a public health professor who co-wrote the
commentary on the new study said, “Rape doesn’t just involve someone with a gun
to a woman’s head. People tend to think of rape as something someone else would
do.”
Second, rape can occur in
marriages. This shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone reading this blog. I talk
about sexual violence between partners often. The UN study found rape between
married partners was more common than rape between people not involved with one
another. Obviously, a sexual history or even a legally binding contract doesn’t
give someone a right to your body, which somehow isn’t getting through to men.
Third, rapists are repeat
offenders. This also shouldn’t be a surprise to readers of this blog. It is
estimated that among college age men only five to ten percent of the population
commits sexual assaults, but those that do, are repeat offenders. Pair that
information with the estimates that one in three college aged women have been
raped. In the UN study, nearly half of those he admitted to rape, said they had
raped at least once, but went on to rape multiple victims. Almost twenty three
percent said they had raped two to three people, twelve percent had raped four
to ten people, and about four percent admitted to raping more than ten people. Take
a long breather. A Harvard University study found this behavior isn’t just
limited to college age men. Young men who commit a rape in college are likely
to become serial offenders, and of course many do after all they usually evade
punishment through campus policies.
Fourth, attitudes about sexuality
develop at a young age. More than half of the men who admitted to violating
someone without consent said they were teenagers when they first raped someone.
The majority of sexual crimes occurred between ages 15 and 19. The authors
claims this finding “reinforces the need for early rape prevention.” Preach.
In the US, sex education advocated believe this can occur within comprehensive
sex ed. If kids are taught respect and confidence with their own bodies, they
are less likely to violate someone else’s consent and speak up when someone
violates theirs.
Fifth men are taught they have a
right to women’s bodies. I know, reader, you’re shocked. This is a staple of
rape culture. It manifests in the "men can’t help themselves" trope or the
women’s bodies in exchange for positive behavior essentially a man is owed because he is nice to you (Nice Guys). The UN study
showed this attitude was prevalent among the rapists surveyed. More than
seventy percent of the men who admitted to rape said they did so because of
“sexual entitlement.” *shudder* Another forty percent said they were
angry or wanted to punish the woman. *double shudder* Half the men said
they didn’t feel guilty. *triple shudder* Someone want to tell me again how
rape is about sex? Maybe it is a bit more about privilege, entitlement, and
power? Maybe someone wants to deny rape culture?
Sixth In Southeast Asia, rape
usually goes unpunished. Only twenty three percent of the men who admitted to
rape had been imprisoned for their crimes. This trend was found in all six of
the countries included in the study. RAINN estimates that about three percent
of US rapists serve jail time, this includes the unreported rapes. Which is
funny because of course according to the FBI only two percent of rapes are
false allegations of course also according to the FBI eight percent are…guess
it just depends on who their talking to. It has been standard policy on college
campuses that rapists receive light punishments.
There has been some discussion on the
articles that emphasis one in ten men rape, when the reality is thirty to
thirty seven percent of men rape. Of course, the later stat reflects partners, and
by emphasizing the earlier stat the argument can be made that these articles
are down playing partner/marital rape, essentially reinforcing that people can’t
sexually abuse their own partners. This is a controversial issue because for a
long time wives couldn’t accuse their husbands of sexual assault. The Model Penal Code stated,
“A male who has sexual intercourse with a female not his wide is guilty of rape
it: (…). It wasn’t until 1993 when all states considered martial rape a crime.
Remember Akin (legitimate rape guy) he made references to how men can’t rape
their own wives.
The study focused on the male perpetrators rather than the female victims
because they hope this will encourage policy change with the focus on men and prevention opposed to women and prevention. I have my doubts. All of
these findings aren’t new to anyone even remotely familiar with sexual assault
and intimate partner violence. The researchers concluded, “Prevention of rape
is essential. Interventions must focus on childhood and adolescences, and
address culturally rooted male gender socialization and power relations, abuse
in childhood, and poverty.”
Rape culture permeates US society we all, and all of the things listed in
the requirements for intervention should be employed here as well. After, we
teardown the victims and talk about the wasted potential of the rapists here,
because a man’s life is viewed as worth more than a woman’s.
