NCJ Number
82315
Date Published
1981
Length
199 pages
Annotation
Candid interviews with 15 convicted rapists from 3 different prison systems highlight these men's motives, methods, and attitudes toward woman
Abstract
The rapists surveyed are either black or white, and all are hardcore offenders. The interviews lasted about 45 minutes and focused on the rapists' relationships with their mothers, how they felt during and after each assault, and whether they believed that women want to be raped. The men reveal that female attractiveness and youth are unimportant in choosing a target; their objective is to subjugate their victims and to humiliate them regardless of color or physical attractiveness. They are driven not by romance but by pure hatred and the need to humiliate. Most rapists carry a weapon, usually a knife or a gun, because they know that a woman will probably submit if threatened with a weapon. They do not necessarily plan to use it, although some do. It can also be implied from these interviews that suggestive clothing, timidity, and friendliness toward strangers encourage rape. Overall, any man can become a rapist. Because the desire to harm women is so profound in the culture, the only way to prevent rape is by a revolution of consciousness. Men will stop raping only if the power relationships between men and women are transformed. Letters from convicted rapists are appended.