Rape

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

Some aspects of rape

Drugging

Hypnotic agents such as flunitrazepam (Rohypnol) and GHB, colloquially referred to as "date rape drugs," have been used by rapists to render their victims unconscious before raping them. According to the DEA, "Victims may not be aware that they ingested a drug at all. GHB and its analogues are invisible when dissolved in water, and are odorless. They are somewhat saltish in taste, but are indiscernible when dissolved in beverages such as sodas, liquor, or beer."

Related Topics:
Hypnotic - Flunitrazepam - Rohypnol - GHB - Date rape drug - Analogue - Salt - Beverage - Soda - Liquor - Beer

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According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse http://www.nida.nih.gov/infofax/RohypnolGHB.html, "Rohypnol can incapacitate victims and prevent them from resisting sexual assault. It can produce "anterograde amnesia," which means that individuals may not remember events they experienced while under the effects of the drug." The sedative effects of Rohypnol begin to appear approximately 15–20 minutes after the drug is ingested. The effects typically last from four to six hours after administration of the drug, but some cases have been reported in which the effects were experienced 12 or more hours after administration.

Related Topics:
National Institute on Drug Abuse - Anterograde amnesia - Sedative - Drug

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These drugs are extremely dangerous, and may kill or render the victim comatose. It is imperative that any investigation into the suspected use of date rape drugs involve the immediate carrying out of a blood test, as waiting too long to test for the presence of drugs may cause false negatives.

Related Topics:
Comatose - False negative

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However, trying to deduce whether date rape drugs have been used from the symptoms is an approach that can cause false positives. In 2003, when the media were reporting a drink-spiking epidemic in Perth, Western Australia, 44 women had their blood tested because they believed they had been the victims of drink-spiking. The West Australian Chemistry Centre tested the blood samples and in these 44 cases, the only substance found in the victim's system was excessive alcohol. In large amounts, excessive alcohol has the same effects as date rape drugs, and causes unconsciousness and memory loss. Police said that the blood-alcohol level of most of the subjects was significantly higher than what the women had themselves expected, based on their assessment of the amount of drinks consumed, and commented:

Related Topics:
False positive - 2003 - Spiking - Epidemic - Perth, Western Australia - Memory loss

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:"While we can't dismiss all cases, the results suggest that a fair proportion of drink spiking is just an urban myth ... It seems that a proportion of young women are getting incredibly intoxicated, and using drink spiking as an excuse to explain behaviour they are not happy with." http://www.thesundaymail.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,6766753%255E1702,00.html

Related Topics:
Myth - Intoxicated

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Testing kits that claim to detect GHB, Ketamine and benzodiazepines such as Rohypnol in seconds are commercially available under names such as "The Drink Detective".

Related Topics:
Ketamine - Benzodiazepine

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Custodial and prison rape

Main article at: Custodial rape

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Research carried out by Cindy Struckman-Johnson and David Struckman-Johnson of the University of South Dakota has found that 22% - 25% of male prisoners in the United States had been the victim of sexual assault, 10% of rape, and 6% of gang rape. Women prisoners are especially vulnerable to assault by guards and other staff members, and the incidence in the United States has been denounced by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.

Related Topics:
University of South Dakota - Amnesty International - Human Rights Watch

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Rape and sexual torture

In circumstances where torture is being employed as a means of military or governmental policy, the rape of both female and male detainees is a common element of that torture. It is used often as a means to "soften" the detainees for interrogation or to intimidate them into compliance. In societies with strong social taboos on sexuality, sexual torture is commonly used to destroy the credibility and influence of political dissidents. Rape under such circumstances often has even more profoundly negative psychological effects than under circumstances in which sexual assaults usually happen.

Related Topics:
Torture - Detainee - Taboo - Political dissident - Psychological

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See also humiliation, Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse, Nanjing Massacre.

Related Topics:
Humiliation - Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse - Nanjing Massacre

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Sex trafficking

Trafficking is a term used to define the recruiting, harboring, obtaining, transportation of a person by use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjecting them to involuntary acts, the most common being forced commercial sexual exploitation (forced prostitution).

Related Topics:
Trafficking - Fraud - Coercion - Prostitution

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Human trafficking is not the same as people smuggling. A smuggler will facilitate illegal entry into a country for a fee, but on arrival at their destination, the smuggled person is free; the trafficking victim is enslaved. Victims do not agree to be trafficked - they are tricked - lured by false promises - or forced. Traffickers use coercive tactics including deception, fraud, intimidation, isolation, threat and use of physical force, debt bondage or even force-feeding with drugs of abuse to control their victims. Women are typically recruited with promises of good jobs in other countries or provinces, and, lacking better options at home, agree to migrate, not knowing they will be forced into prostitution.

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Due to the illegal nature of trafficking, the exact extent is unknown. A US Government report published in 2003, estimates that 800,000-900,000 people worldwide are trafficked across borders each year.

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See also "Trafficking in human beings"

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Consent

There is considerable debate as to what constitutes proper and complete consent in a sexual relationship. How explicit should consent be, how often should it be established, and what constitutes diminished capacity (usually due to drugs or alcohol) are all subjects of some disagreement. These debates take place both on moral and ethical grounds, and as a legal issue, since rape can only be convicted as a crime with intent in many jurisdictions, and the erroneous belief of consent is a common defense.

Related Topics:
Consent - Diminished capacity - Moral - Ethical

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Victim blaming

"Victim blaming" is holding the victim of a crime to be in whole or in part responsible for what has happened to them. In the context of rape, this concept refers to popular attitudes that certain victim behaviours (such as flirting, or wearing sexually-provocative clothing) may encourage rape. In extreme cases, victims are said to have "asked for it", simply by not behaving demurely. In most Western countries, the defense of provocation is not accepted as a mitigation for rape.

Related Topics:
Victim blaming - Flirting - Provocation - Mitigation

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It has been proposed that one cause of victim-blaming is the "just world hypothesis". People who believe that the world has to be fair, may find it hard or impossible to accept a situation in which a person is unfairly and badly hurt for no cause or reason. This leads to a sense that, somehow, the victim must have surely done 'something' to deserve their fate. A global survey of attitudes toward sexual violence by the Global Forum for Health Research http://www.globalforumhealth.org/filesupld/vaw/attitudes.html shows that victim-blaming concepts are at least partially accepted in many countries. In some countries, victim-blaming is more common, and women who have been raped are sometimes deemed to have behaved improperly. Often, these are countries where there is a significant social divide between the freedoms and status afforded to men and women.

Related Topics:
Just world hypothesis - Global Forum for Health Research

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A more mainstream view is that everybody has the theoretical right to feel safe at all times, but that the responsibility of preventing and minimising the risk of being in a dangerous situation is largely up to the individual. On this basis, the question is not whether the victim 'deserved' to be raped, because nobody "deserves" to be the victim of crime.

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Under cases of alleged date rape, however, the situation is different. Because the question at hand is whether or not the incident was consensual, or whether the alleged victim encouraged the accused or gave implied consent, becomes the critical consideration. As such, arguments about the victim's conduct are an accepted element of an affirmative defense.

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In the United States, rape is unique in that it is the only crime in which there are statutory protections, designed in favor of the victim (known as "rape shield laws"). These were enacted in response to the common defense tactic of "putting the victim on trial". Typical rape shield laws prohibit cross-examination of the victim with respect to issues, such as her prior sexual history, or the manner in which she was dressed at the time of the rape.

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Sexual fantasy

Many people assume that people aroused by rape fantasies must be more likely than others to commit the actual act, or that victims with rape fantasies actually want to become victims of sexual assault. This does not correspond with observed scientific evidence, however; while rapists usually fantasize about rape, so do normal psychologically-healthy people.

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In fact, an inability to use sexual fantasies for gratification is often regarded by law enforcement and other professionals as a more alarming warning sign than the presence of sexual fantasies of rape or sadism. Millions of normal people fantasize about rape, or being raped without wanting it to really happen.

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