What is Rape?
People’s attitudes to rape are very different. These attitudes lie anywhere on the following continuum.
| Broad View | What the Law Says | Narrow View |
|---|---|---|
| Rape is any act of sexual violation. | Rape is penetration of a woman’s vagina by a man’s penis when she doesn’t want it. | Rape only happens violently in dark, deserted streets. |
| All sexual attention that is not wanted is a part of rape. | Any other forms of sexual violation are not rape, but unlawful sexual connection. | Rapists do not know the women they attack. |
The narrow view comes from a lot of misunderstanding about rape. The broad view extends rape beyond the legal definition. This broad view acknowledges that rape is not always physically violent.
Rape may also include:
- Forced oral sex
- Forced masturbation
- Penetration with objects
False Beliefs about Rape
- If a woman resists she can’t be raped or, in other words, “good women don’t get raped”.
- Rape would not happen if women did not dress seductively.
- Only young, attractive women are sexually assaulted.
- Only strangers rape.
- A woman cannot be raped by her husband.
NONE OF THESE BELIEFS ARE TRUE.
Truths about Rape
- Sometimes resisting can prevent sexual assault, but it can also increase physical violence.
- The way women dress has very little to do with who is assaulted.
- All women are at risk, young or old.
- Relatives and friends are just as capable of rape. Most women know their attacker.
- A woman can be raped by her husband. She has a right to say “no” and the law recognises this right.
Rape is the misuse and abuse of power. Rape is a crime which can take away your dignity and self-determination. Rape can have profound and long-term effects on your physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual well-being.
