Which person is "Favored" tends to
depend on the form of rape which occurs. In the case of marital or date rape,
your perception is accurate (see: Kilpatrick, Best, Saunders, & Veronen,
(1988). _Rape in marriage and in dating relationships: How bad is it for
mental health?_ In R. A. Prentky & V. L. Quinsey (Eds.), _Human
sexual aggression: Current Perspectives._ New York: New York Academy of
Sciences.). If, however, you're referring to stranger rape, rape by
fraud, or more violent forms of date rape, the opposite holds
true.
The concept that men are favored probably comes from the
fact that only about 3% of all reported rapes result in a conviction--but this
rather startling statistic tends not to reflect the reality of the situation for
three reasons: (1) the majority of rape prosecutions result in plea bargains in
which the perp pleads guilty to a lesser offense (i.e., to CDC 3, which doesn't
appear as a rape conviction, although it does appear as a sex offence); (2) the
majority of rape charges have little actual admissible evidence to support a
conviction (as rape is usually committed with no witnesses present and--if no
physical injury [apart from the rape itself] occurs, it becomes a matter of one
individual claiming she was raped and another claiming the sex was
consensual--which, of course, makes a determination of guilt beyond a reasonable
doubt more difficult and; (3) conviction rates of 3%--or even lower--are not
limited to rape but are common with many areas of crime; i.e., burglary,
malicious mischief, auto theft, etc., which indicates that it is the criminal
justice system, rather than the nature of the offense, that determines the
conviction rate.
Probably the biggest single contributor to a low rate of
arrest and conviction (when compared to the total number of rapes occurring each
day) is the reluctance of victims to notify authorities that a rape has
occurred; to follow through with the necessary (and, unfortunately unpleasant
and embarrassing) medical evidence gathering procedures; and to actively assist
the prosecution of the offender. Many victims are, justifiably, uncomfortable
publicly acknowledging that they are rape victims (both because of the
disruptive effect on their own lives and the mis-perception--a hold-over from
the very male dominated days of the complete double-standard--that they will be
"marked" by the knowledge in a negative manner). Current studies indicate that
only about 8% of all rapes are reported; leaving a _lot_ of rapists free to
repeat their offense, often a dozen times or more before anyone actually reports
the crime.
For a good study of violence against women in general, and
rape in particular, you might want to take a look at: The National
Women's Study (Tjaden, P., & Thoennes, N. (1998). _Prevalence, incidence,
and consequences of violence against women: Findings from the National Violence
Against Women Survey._ Research in Brief. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of
Justice.).
Hope this helps a bit,
Rick
--
Rick Adams
Department of Social Sciences
Jackson
Community College
Jackson, MI
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
"... and the
only measure of your worth and your deeds will be the love you leave behind when
you're gone. --Fred Small, Everything Possible "
--------Original Message-----
From: Cheri Budzynski [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
Sent: Tuesday, February 11, 2003 10:00 AM
To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences
Subject: A question regarding Rape ConvictionsOne of my students asked if the legal system favored men or women in regards to rape cases. His perception was that women were favored and men were convicted simply on the women's word. I have always thought the opposite - that most cases were thrown out due to lack of evidence. I am interested in finding the statistics regarding this issue - does anyone know where I can find some reliable stats?
Thanks in advance
You are currently subscribed to tips as: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
