NCJ Number
79191
Date Published
1979
Length
192 pages
Annotation
Rape is examined from a legal, victimological, and psychological perspectives to establish whether the behavior of the victims causes or contributes to the offense.
Abstract
A general section discusses women's position in society, the inaccuracy of rape statistics, and reasons for reporting or not reporting rapes. A second major section traces rape laws and penalties from antiquity to 1830 and to the present, the evolutionary course and the present state of rape laws in Belgium, and rape laws in neighboring European countries. In the section on victimological perspectives, the victim, women as victims, and the rape victim are placed in a theoretical framework. Finally, a psychological view of the rape situation outlines basic male-female relationships and the offender-victim relationship. The central portion of the study analyzes records of 400 rape cases which occurred in Belgium from 1969 to 1972. Results of this analysis show that older men generally rape younger women or girls, that women who must go out professionally run a greater risk of being raped, that most rapes occur after dark and outside in fields, woods, or bushes, and that the vast majority of rapists (91.81 percent) are strangers to their victims. The authors conclude that rape is the expression of a psychosexual conflict between male and female. The nature of the rape is determined by the way in which the partners meet and the course of the sexual relationship. While the role of the woman is minimal in an aggressive surprise attack, in cases where victim and offender have previous contact the behavior of the women may decisively contribute to the rape. Under the terms of modern emancipation of women, rape must no longer be considered a sexual offense punishable by up to 20 years of forced labor but rather a crime of violence. When prosecuted as crimes of violence, rapes would be penalized with 6 months to 1 year imprisonment, or up to 5 years under certain circumstances. The offense would then be easier to prove, would save women the embarrassment of probing investigation into sexual details, and would permit judges to pronounce precise sentences. The result of such an approach would be better understanding of rape by the victim and a higher conviction rate of offenders. Notes, a bibliography of over 160 entries, and an appendix with brief descriptions of the 400 rape cases are provided.