Rape

:For other uses of the word rape (for example, the plant called rapeseed), see Rape (disambiguation).

Rape and punishment

Punishment of assailants

Most societies consider rape to be a grave offense, and punish it accordingly. Punishment for rape in most countries today is imprisonment, but until the late 20th century, some states of the US, for instance, could apply the death penalty in cases of aggravated rape, indicating the severity with which the crime was viewed. Castration is sometimes a punishment for rape and, controversially, some U.S. jurisdictions allow shorter sentences for sex criminals who agree to voluntary "chemical castration."

Related Topics:
US - Death penalty - Castration - Chemical castration

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In the Southern states of the U.S., the charge of rape was often used to justify vigilante groups ("lynch mobs") that would seize and kill men accused of rape, without due process or trial. Victims of lynching were typically, though not always, African American. (One historic case was the lynching of Leo Frank, a Jewish American). Members of the lynch mobs were rarely prosecuted or punished for these mob killings.

Related Topics:
Southern states - Vigilante - Lynch mob - Due process - Trial - Lynch - African American - Leo Frank - Jewish

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In some such communities, any sexual interaction between an African-American male and a White (Caucasian) female was viewed as rape, which resulted in a large number of (presumably) innocent men, being unjustly murdered. This resulted from the fact that it was commonly believed that no White female would ever consent to sexual relations with a Black man, and thus any sexual interaction must have been non-consensual.

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Prison sentences for rape are not uniformly long or severe. 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 for violent crimes in the US, where those convicted typically serve no more than half of their sentence

Related Topics:
U.S. Department of Justice - 1992

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http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/ascii/psatsfv.txt. Between 2002 and 2003, more than one in ten convicted rapists in Australia served a wholly suspended sentence, and the average total effective sentence for rape was seven years http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/10/15/1097784044926.html?from=storylhs.

Related Topics:
2002 - 2003 - Australia

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Punishment of victims

While the practice is condemned as barbaric by many present-day societies, some societies punish the victims of rape as well as the perpetrators. According to such cultures, being raped dishonors the victim and, in many cases, the victim's family. In Middle Eastern societies, and other cultures, honor killings may be sanctioned, and rape victims are sometimes killed to restore the family's name.

Related Topics:
Middle East - Honor killing

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In the Shakespeare drama Titus Andronicus, Titus Andronicus kills his raped, maimed daughter in what he believes to be a mercy killing.

Related Topics:
Shakespeare - Drama - Titus Andronicus - Mercy killing

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Rape and cultural views

Certain cultures, often considered?though perhaps not un-controversially?patriarchal, have historically promoted a system of honor, dishonor and shame, which was applied with particularly strictness to females. A victim of rape would be considered to have lost her honorable reputation and place in society, a loss of honor which entailed shame on the woman's family group as well. In early ancient Rome, ancient China, and other cultures, a pressure has existed which has led women to commit suicide after becoming victims of rape. The iconic Roman instance is that of Lucretia. (This instance, it should be noted, is considered among many scholars to be mythical, indicating a cultural value statement and not a historical incident, which nonetheless demonstrates to some degree actual attitudes of the period.) Likewise, suicide of female rape victims for reasons of shame is also historically documented in Chinese culture http://www.theophoretos.hostmatrix.org/chinesepatriarchy.htm.

Related Topics:
Patriarchal - Honor - Shame - Family - Ancient Rome - Ancient China - Lucretia

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Rape as punishment

Though modern societies claim to recognize the practice as barbaric, some cultures use rape itself as a form of punishment. Usually, the victim of the rape is a female relative of the person targeted for retaliation. In June 2002, a Pakistani woman named Mukhtaran Bibi was sentenced to be gang-raped by a vigilante mob after her brother was (falsely) accused of rape himself. The Pakistani government, along with local religious officials, condemned this action and sentenced the rapists to death. Many such events are reported in Pakistan and other Muslim countries.

Related Topics:
June - 2002 - Pakistan - Mukhtaran Bibi - Muslim

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In some dictatorships, rape is or was used as a method to retaliate against, or to intimidate their political enemies. There are numerous allegations that this took place under the former regime of Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein.

Related Topics:
Dictator - Iraq - Saddam Hussein

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There is suspicion that some rape incidents in prisons are permitted through timely guard absences (at showers, for instance). Motivations for this range from punishing troublesome prisoners to providing a deterrent to those considering a criminal act, particularly among those who have little to lose from incarceration (e.g. homeless persons in winter).

Related Topics:
Deterrent - Criminal act - Incarceration

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