Chapter 17: Sexual Assault

Sexual Assault on College Campuses

- 21% of students told researchers they had been sexually assaulted since the beginning of school Title IX: - Title IX prohibits schools from practicing gender discrimination - essentially Obama issued a letter from the DOE saying that is sexual assault cases were not prosecuted, universities would lose their funding under Title IX - the debate surrounding how sexual assault on college campuses should be handled has become largely politicized Sexual Consent: - Historically, most legal definitions hinged on a :no" means "no" interpretation, so only communicated "no" means their person doesn't want sex, so absence of a response therefore indicates a "yes" -Now: "yes means yes" standpoint - Affirmative consent: affirmative, conscious, and voluntary agreement to engage in sexual activity, so lack of protest or silence do NOT mean consent - still as huge debate as to whether a verbal "yes" needs to be given, or if some action is enough Role of drugs and alcohol: - alcohol clearly contributes to high incidence of sexual assault on college campuses: alcohol is often a factor in rape - majority of rapes of college females occur when the victim is too intoxicated to resist - members of frats and collegiate sports teams have an especially worrisome record as sexual offenders

Violent Resistance

- PRIMARILY DEFENSIVE or REACTION on the part of the VICTIM, usually a woman - equal numbers of men and women commit IPV because women are more likely to be engaging in violent resistance

Quid pro harassment

- most obvious form of sexual harassment in the workplace - involves the suggestion, whether implicit or explicit, that granting sexual favors will lead to certain tangible rewards - ex: Harvey Weinstein - started #metoo social media movement

Mutual Violent Control

- mutual self destruction - PATTERN in which both partners are controlling and violent - two intimate terrorists battling for control

Rape Myths

- negative and false beliefs that are widely and persistently held in which the victim of rape is blamed, and the perpetrator excused, base on traditional male-female roles and heteronormativity 3 types of rape myths: 1. FEMALE WAS ASKING FOR IT 2. FEMALE BROUGHT IT ON HERSELF (tight clothing) 3. FEMALE EXAGGERATED EVENT OR MADE IT UP - people who accept rape myths are less likely to blame the perpetrator and more likely to hold victims responsible for their own victimization - media encourages rape and sexual violence against women

Intimate Terrorism

- primarily perpetrated by men against women, but can also occur in same-sex relationships - VIOLENCE is used as part of a GENERAL PATTERN of CONTROL over one's partner - usually ESCALATES over time and is more likely to involve serious injury - involves type of emotional abuse that can gradually alter women's views of themselves, their relationships, and their place in the world - Women frequently become demoralized and TRAPPED in these relationships

Most common reasons for not reporting rape

- self-blame or guilt - shame, embarrassment, or desire to keep the assault a private matter - humiliation or fear of the perpetrator or other individual's perceptions - fear of not being believed or of being accused of playing a role in the crime - lack of trust in the criminal justice system - desire to protect the perpetrator - sexual assault is NEVER the victim's fault

Rape Trauma Syndrome

Effects of rape on victim: - feelings of numbness or disconnection, alternating with flashbacks and preoccupation with the rape incident - self-blame - anxiety - depression - anger - sleeplessness - inability to concentrate - headaches - digestive disturbances - victims are also more likely to report sexual problems following the rape

Statutory Rape

penetration that occurs without physical force, of a victim who is unable to give consent either because of their young age or mental incapacity

Individual Difference Models (Psychosexual)

- Personal characteristics of Rapists vs. Non-rapists Perpetrator identities/what distinguish rapists from non-rapists: - vast majority of rapists do NOT suffer from a major mental health disorder - rapists tend to have lower socioeconomic status than non-rapists and tend to have less education - more likely to suffer from INSECURE ATTACHMENT STYLES as result of poor relationships with their parents growing up - more likely to have experienced emotional or physical abuse as children and have had more exposure to porn and violent media at a younger age - college males who rape are high in two major clusters of personality variables: HOSTILE MASCULINITY (HM) & IMPERSONAL SEX (IS) - HM: narcissistic, insecure, defensive hypersensitive, hostile-distrustful orientation especially toward women - IS: sexual gratification from controlling r dominating women - reflect developmental history of growing up in troubled/violent household culminating in detached, promiscuous orientation toward sex RISK FACTORS: High levels of these make male more likely to rape: - many sexual partners & frequent coitus - focus on orgasm - preference for hooking up, not relationship - positive response to sex aggressive porn - misogyny - personal history of being victimized (violence, abuse) Empathy: - personality trait that counteracts many of the risk factors - if males can put themselves in their victims shoes and imagine the pain and trauma that sexual violence will cause then, they are less likely to commit sexual aggression 4 stages that culminate in a rape (Malamuth Model): - Motivation - Overcome Internal Inhibitors - Overcome External Inhibitors - Find opportunities/sect victim

Gender harassment

- a form of hostile environment harassment that appears to be motivated by hostility toward individuals who violate gender ideals rather than by desire for those who meet them - PEOPLE LIKE TO RETALIATE AGAINST WOMEN WHO VIOLATE GENDER ROLES

Battered Spouse Syndrome

- a pattern of learned helplessness in which the victim no longer attempts to flee - can be due to many reasons: so emotionally altered/disturbed, fear of punishment (kill, etc.)

stalker

- a person who is emotionally obsessed with a particular victim - repeatedly frighten their victims by following them, harassing then, waiting for them in places they know they'll, making phone calls to them and vandalizing their property

Rape

- a subset of sexual assault - legally defined as "penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim

Intimate Partner Violence (IPV)

- any behavior within an intimate relationship that causes physical, psychological or sexual harm to those in the relationship, including acts of physical aggression, sexual coercion, psychological abuse and controlling behaviors - women are more likely to act violently in retaliation or self-defense - men are more likely than women to commit long-term cycles of abuse - men and women in heterosexual relationships commit acts of physical aggression in approximately equal numbers What is the most common types of intimate partner violence? * The most COMMON TYPE of IPV is COMMON COUPLE VIOLENCE What are the risk factors of intimate partner violence? - Shame (think it's their fault) - Social isolation - Sanctity of marriage: believe it is wrong to abandon spouse/children -Economic dependence - fear of retribution (punish or kill them or children) - mental illness (victim becomes physically and emotionally debilitated; loses the will/capacity to act) Describe how it follows an escalating cycle of three phases. - This is the cycle intimate terrorism takes 1. Tension-building phase (weeks) 2. Violent Incident 3. Reconciliation phase (months) 4. Calm Battered spouse syndrome - a pattern of learned helplessness in which victim no longer attempts to flee

Sexual Assault

- any type of sexual contact or behavior that occurs without the explicit consent of the recipient

Common Couple Violence

- arises in context of a specific argument in which one or both of the partners lash out PHYSICALLY at the other - simple, not to last a long time

Acquaintance Rape

- broader term that refers to any rape where the perpetrator was a friend or acquaintance of the victim

Rape Culture

- concept introduced by feminists who view rape as motivated by a man's desire to control and have power over a woman, and not by a desire for sex - describes a setting where rape is pervasive and normalized by societal attitudes about gender and sexuality How it's perpetuated: - victim blaming - slut shaming - sexual objectification - trivializing rape - denying that rape is widespread - refusing to acknowledge the harm caused by sexual violence Rape culture is largely fueled by: - Overly strict (dysfunction) gender roles - Rape myths - Sexual scripts

Cycle of Abuse in Intimate Partner Violence (IPV)

- explains why so many women get trapped in abusive relationships 1. Tension-building phase (weeks): - abuse is moody, suspicious, commits minor assaults - victim tries to appease abuser 2. Violent Incident: - abused commits major assault - victim fights back, tries to flee, calls police 3. Reconciliation phase (months): - abuser tries to make amends, declares love - victim recants charges to police, lies about cause of injury 4. Calm: - incident is forgotten, no abuse taking place, "the honeymoon phase" - each time the cycle is repeated it tends to become shorter - eventually, violence may occur weekly/daily as it grows more intense over time

Sexual Scripts

- important aspect of rape culture - Sexual scripts describe the expected ways in which females, as opposed to males, are expected to act in sexual situations - females are expected to be sexual gatekeepers who are not allowed to initiate sexual encounter, but are expected to resist sexual advances regardless of their own desires

Hostile-environment harassment

- involves a pattern of unwelcome sexual attention that make life difficult for the victim - harder to prosecute because it involves more general behaviors vs. an explicit threat or deal - perpetrators try to claim that their words and actions are protected under the 1st amendment laws protecting free speech - harder to pin down - offenders may use sexual jokes or behaviors in an effort to intimidate or belittle their victim - often times, this is done under the guise of flirtation or flattery so that the victims feel less able to take a stand against it - David Schwimmer's "That's Harassment" - bartender video

What is sexual harassment? What causes men to sexually harass?

- sexual harassment is about power over another person - unwanted sex-related behavior at work that is appraised by the recipient as offensive, exceeding her resources, or threatening her well-being What causes men to sexually harass? - lack of empathy - inability to take the less powerful person's perspective - belief in traditional gender sex roles - tendency toward dominance/authoritarianism - tendency to associate dominance and power with sex - environmental factors also play a huge role - power makes people more impulsive, less concerned with social conventions and less focused on how their actions impact others What are the three kinds of workplace sexual harassment? - Quid pro harassment: most obvious; involves suggestion that granting sexual favors will lead to tangible rewards - Hostile-environment harassment: pattern of unwanted sexual attention that makes like difficult for the victim - third party sexual harassment: employees who aren't the direct target of sexual harassment, but suffer by losing out on opportunities granted to those employees who are How does sexual harassment effect children/schools? - approximately 1/2 CHILDREN BETWEEN 7-12 experience some form of sexual harassment during the school year - ex: unwelcome sexual jokes, comments or gestures, being called gay/lesbian in a negative way and being shown sexually suggestive pictures against one's will - can be unwelcome sexual touch, being physically intimidated in sexual way, being forced to look at genitals or having unwanted sexual material sent to you or posted about you

Third party sexual harassment

- sometimes employees are not the target of sexual harassment themselves, but suffer by losing out on opportunities granted to those who are - such employees suffer by having their work environment degraded

Intimate Partner Stalking

- stalked is current or former GF/BF or spouse - often, stalking begins before the relationship has ended, and is an expression of suspicion and desire for control - other times it begins after a rejection has occurred, in an effort to see if the victim truly means to go through with the breakup - these stalkers engage in obsessive thinking and have tendencies toward exploitation and coercion

Delusional Stalking

- stalker has delusional belief that the victim is either in love with them or would fall in love with them if they were simply to meer - celebrities are at particularly high risk for delusional stalking

Cyberstalking

- stalking that takes place over the internet

Empathy

- the personality trait that is able to counteract many of the characteristics/feeling that drive rape, and will make male less likely to rape if he is able to put himself in victims shoes and see the trauma and pain that will result from the sexual assault/violence

Grudge Stalking

- this type of stalker is pursuing the victim as a means of revenge for either an imagined or actual injury - least likely to be sexual or romantic in nature - usually involves co-workers, employers, etc..

Social Learning Models - Rape Culture

- to a large extent, the tendency for males to rape is something that they are taught to do, due to certain messages that permeate culture and society Rape culture - concept introduced by feminists who view rape as motivated by a man's desire to control and have power over a woman, and not by a desire for sex - describes a setting where rape is pervasive and normalized by societal attitudes about gender and sexuality - rape culture is fueled by: overly strict (dysfunctional) gender roles, rape myths, sexual scripts Gender role dysfunction: - very harmful and rigid ideas males develop about what it means to be a "man" versus a "woman" Rape myths (3 categories): - involve negative and false beliefs that are widely and persistently held in which the victim of rape is blamed, and the perpetrator excused, based on traditional male-female roles and heteronormativity - 3 categories: 1. FEMALE WANTING IT TO HAPPEN 2. FEMALE BRINGING IT ON HERSELF 3. FEMALE EXAGGERATING THE EVENT OR MAKING IT UP 1. Perceptions of female and male role Sexual scripts that support rape culture: - important aspect of rape culture - sexual scripts describe the expected ways in which females, as opposed to males, are expected to act in sexual situations - men tend to perceive women who drink in bars as being sexually promiscuous and using alcohol to signal sexual readiness - men think drinking makes them powerful, and they think it makes women sexually available and powerless - alcohol clearly contributes to the high incidence of sexual assault on college campuses

Date Rape

- used to describe situations in which a consensual sexual interaction is already underway when the rape occurs - includes acquaintance rape

Gender Role Dysfunction

- very harmful and rigid ideas about what it means to be a "man" versus a "woman" - men = dominant, women = weak, dependent - rape culture can be seen as encouraging extreme versions of these roles

Explanatory Models of Rape

1. Bisocial Theories 2. Individual Difference Models (psychosexual) 3. Social Learning Model

Malamuth Model: 4 stages that culminate in a Rape

1. Motivation - want to have sex by any means - prove self & establish masculinity/heterosexuality - prove powerlessness of victim desire to control "property" - sexual aggression, paraphilia - misogyny - unresolved anger at women 2. Overcome Internal Inhibitors - JUSTIFY ONE's OWN ACTIONS TO ONE's SELF - belief in rape myths - "she wanted it" - sense of entitlement - "she owes me" - retribution - "she deserves it" - belief that "might is right" 3. Overcome External Inhibitors - perceive social support & tolerance for actions: belonging to groups where there is perceived social support and tolerance for rape - perceive actions at "private", "personal", "family business" - social boundaries - patriarchy, marriage - male dominance structures - military, sports, celebrities - male group bonds - "boys being boys" 4. Find Opportunities/Select Victims - perceive females as inferior - defining desirable feminine traites - passivity & compliance - prefer female dependency/vulnerability - financial & emotions - prefer small physical size, lack of physical strength or skill

Biosocial Theories - Rape as an Evolutionary Adaptions?

Main ideas: - Are males preprogrammed to rape? - "forced copulation" common among our close primate relatives - Biosocial models suggest that the desire to rape in humans results from a similar evolutionary adaption and is a function of hyperactive male sexual desire coupled with a male's perceived chances of being caught/punished - males are more likely to rape when they have restricted/limited access to willing female partners - slight variation of model suggests: rape evolved as a bi-product of male aggression and thirst for dominance Limitations: - the theories predict relatively uniform rates of rape across all societies and yet this predicted uniformity does not occur (RAPE DOES NOT OCCUR AT THE SAME RATE ACROSS ALL SOCIETIES) - also the Bonobo, our closest genetic relatives do not rape and in fact promote female dominance

Victims of Sexual Violence

Prevalence: - 1 OUT OF EVERY 6 American women has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime - 3% of American men (1 in 33) have experienced an attempted or completed rape in their lifetime - In 1 out of every 10 rape case, the victim is male - sexual minorities are at high risk for sexual violence - 50% of trans people have been sexually assaulted at one point in their lives - Native Americans are at greatest risk, being 2X as likely to experience a rape/sexual assault compared to the general population Effects on victim: - Society tends to respond to male rape with: disbelief, ridicule, minimization - experience of rape violates a person's sense of inner control and autonomy - RAPE TRAUMA SYNDROME - sexual problems or lost interest in engaging in sexual activity Victim-Survivor Debate: - "survivor" is often replaces with "victim" to EMPOWER victims - using "survivor" gives women sense of strength, dignity and control instead of the helplessness that the word "victim" connotes - but some also think "survivor" unfairly puts pressure on those who experience rape to feel as though that have healed and moved on, when many time, they really have not

Defining rape and sexual assault

Statutory rape - rape that occurs without the use of physical force or victim was unable to give consent Date rape - refers to rape that occurs after consensual sexual interaction is already underway - form of acquaintance rape Acquaintance rape - refers to any rape where perpetrator was a friend or acquaintance Rates: - Most rapes are acquaintance rapes: 45% - Only 28% of rapes are committed by a stranger

Stalking

What are the three types of stalking and what do they involve? Cyberstalking: staking that takes place over internet - Intimate Partner Stalking: stalker is current or former BF/GF or spouse - Delusional Stalking: stalker has the delusional belief that the victim is either in love with them or would fall in love with them if they were simply to meet - Grudge Stalking: stalker is pursuing victim as a means of revenge for either an imagined or actual injury