The Root Cause of Rape - A Male Dominated Society

"Successfully reducing the occurrence of rape [requires]... the identification of its causes" (Hodgson, J. & Kelly, D., 2004, p. 44) and "somehow, over the past 30 years we've managed to create an entire social movement dedicated to treating and ending violence against women that rarely addresses the root cause" (Anderson, 2004). The cause that will be discussed in this paper is our patriarchal society that does not value the autonomy and unique voice of women. If, for instance, society placed value and interest in the well being of women, beyond their ability to reproduce, then the rape of a woman would be such an outrage that to do so would cause a man not only legal but social strife. However, men who rape do not experience such strife. For example, it is presently very difficult to prove acquaintance rape, and during a trial, our society's interests in protecting men over women are obvious by how the victim, not the perpetrator, is scrutinized (Taslitz, 1999). "The [criminal justice] system's response tends to focus less on the injury of and sensitive treatment of the victim, and more on evaluating the victim's credibility" (Hodgson, J. & Kelly, D., 2004, p. 3). A victim must fight against, not only her attacker, but her society, which, incidentally, is the root cause of her violation.

"For most men, aggression, whether physical or verbal, is instrumental, a way of controlling others, attaining social or material benefits, dominance, and self esteem" (Taslitz, 1999, p. 25). In other words, aggression is central to a man's behavior. And men are central to society's institutions. Therefore, male aggression creates the atmosphere for rape because society grants men the role of control over women in all institutions. "What I see all too often are stories about military bases, big business, universities, professional sports organizations where women were humiliated and abused by men who thought they had a license to do whatever they wanted to them" (Lefkowitz, 1999).

It is the nature of how men view and perceive women and their roles in society that will ultimately determine how they treat or mistreat women. With our society's government and justice system being male dominated, women are socially and culturally perceived as "the other", mostly as irrational, unpredictable, unreliable, and feeble minded by men (Hodgson, J. & Kelly, D., 2004, p. 102). Our very institutions are patriarchal, ruled and governed by rules that are familiar to men and conducive to "defining, controlling, and regulating women" and these institutions are so infused with male domination that sexual violence can be defended, perpetuated, and condoned (Hodgson, J. & Kelly D., 2004, p. 102). "Our culture exerts such a powerful force on defining what a man is and how he behaves...We have to change the entire society" in order to end sexual violence (Anderson, 2004).

Women, because they lack such power and dominance in society, seldom challenge the fact that rape is a part of their existence; women just modify their behavior in order to minimize the chances of being raped. They take self defense classes, they make sure that they do not wear clothing that seems too enticing, and they refrain from going certain places at night. Women live in constant fear, knowing that a man has the capacity to perform the most severe violation. Seldom, however, are men, and their aggressive and dominating personalities and perceptions, held accountable for the perpetuation of rape.

Patriarchy is a root cause of rape. Patriarchy gives men power and an excuse to control and dominate women. That is why rape occurs to such an extent that it appears to be an acceptable and inevitable part of human existence. Rape is such a culturally and socially accepted phenomena in that the very behaviors that our society values and perpetuates as inherently male are, in fact, at their most extreme, the very behaviors that lead to rape. Men, not just women, need to change their behavior in order to eliminate rape in our culture. Our entire society needs to alter their perceptions of what a man is because that perception, in action and taken to an extreme, leads to rape.

Men specifically, and society generally, regard what happens to women as secondary to men being able to do what they want. Our culture of male dominance encourages men to do what ever they want because they are men. When society does not hold men accountable for their aggressive views and behaviors, society exhibits an insensitivity and lack of concern for women's welfare. Society is, therefore, validating women's submissive role in society. In short, society is saying "women do not matter as much as men". Men, with their widely known and accepted sexual drives, combined with their socially condoned power to control and dominant relationships with women are essentially taught to rape. "[Men] can exert authority of a sort which undercuts a [woman's] judgment about what she can and should do. It is not only minors who may lack maturity and confidence and who are sensitive to being manipulated by others. Given their role in society, women especially may be in a position of dependence and lack the necessary confidence to see what they should do or to act on that" (Conly, 2004).

Evolutionary biologists purport that rape is, in fact, sexually motivated. "Rape [has] evolved as a form of male reproductive behavior. Despite the long-held theory to the contrary, many facts point to the conclusion that rape is, in its very essence, a sexual act" (Thornhill, R. & Palmer, C., 2000). Therefore, if the nature of the male beast is, in fact, aggressive and uncaring of the sensitivities and concerns of the opposite gender, and he, in fact, is in his base form, motivated to have sex as often as he can, regardless of the willingness of the female partner, then a culture that does not encourage this and that controls aggressive and dominant tendencies in men would be in the best interest of the women of that culture. However, the fact is that our culture does value this aggressiveness and dominance in men because it is this behavior that is central to our patriarchy, and, in fact, our culture does encourage this behavior. Therefore, we have rape, and the general social apathy towards the consequences of rape, as a natural by product of natural male tendencies. In other words, it is as if our society is, essentially, saying, "we can't change what men are, so, therefore women need to change how they behave, so they don't get raped."

However preposterous this idea is, it is prevalent and pervasive. A logical person might ask, "Rape is something that men do, therefore, why should women be responsible for preventing it? Why can't men learn to stop it?" However, it is obvious that our society values the way men are and does not expect them to change. Therefore, the only thing that women can expect from men is for them to tell them how to behave so that they are not raped.

For example, a study of colleges and their strategies for dealing with sexual violence, published in The Journal of American College Health, shows that the typical response to rape on college campuses is merely reactionary in nature. There is no effort to deal with the motivations and rationalizations that cause men to rape.

"The vast majority of institutions of higher education fail to target college men meaningfully in primary prevention efforts (i.e., specific measures that stop or reduce the possibility of violent behavior in the first place). Nor do colleges and universities address the entire continuum of campus interpersonal violence ... Instead, most institutions focus solely or primarily on sexual assault and rely on a menu of traditional approaches, including (a) risk-reduction and self-defense workshops designed for women; (b) environmental changes to make the campus safer or to reduce the availability of alcohol and other drugs used to facilitate sexual assault; (c) victim-advocacy programs and augmentation of campus judicial proceedings; and (d) single-sex or coeducational workshops that use the health belief model to correct misperceived sexual cues, debunk rape myths, and describe how to obtain positive consent." (Hong, 2000)

Furthermore, this study states that "none of the first three of these approaches is a true form of prevention; labeling them as such is a misnomer. The first two approaches fail to address the agency of the sexual assault perpetrator, and the third approach intervenes after the sexual assault incident has already occurred. The fourth approach, although it forms the foundation of effective sexual assault prevention, does not fundamentally change the broader sociocultural determinants of behavior that may supersede individual attitudes, beliefs, and intentions"(Hong, 2000).

In other words, the goals of typical rape prevention programs do not actually attempt to prevent rape. The root cause of rape, male feelings of superiority and dominance, and lack of concern for the feelings, desires, and welfare of women are not even addressed. If anything, discussions are centered on women and what they are doing or not doing to prevent their own rape. However, the discussion should be directed towards the opposite sex. Men's aggressive attitudes and social supremacy should be targeted, not a woman's lack of being able to stop her own rape.

"A growing number of researchers and writers argue that the predominant male socialization process in the United States inculcates in boys and men a hegemonic and limiting code of masculinity that intimately links traditional male gender roles with violence and, therefore, may predispose men to be perpetrators and victims of violence" (Hong, 2000). "Masculinity ideology, a set of beliefs and expectations about what men should and should not do, [is] by far the most powerful and consistent predictor of men's violence-supporting beliefs and behaviors" (Good, G. & Hepper, M. & Hillenbrand-Gun, T. & Wang, L., 1995).

Although our culture considers itself progressive and open minded, certain ideals and assumptions regarding gender roles persist. Specifically, a man should be strong, dominant, decisive, aggressive, and controlling as the head of a household and his wife should be subservient, quiet, nurturing and passive in his custody and charge. These roles are prevalent throughout the culture and include all interactions between men and women. They are also, unfortunately, fundamental in creating the environment conducive to rape.

The acceptance and perpetuation of traditional male and female roles has clear indications for rape. "Thus, we find that men endorsing more traditional male gender roles... reported greater participation in ...violence" (Good, G. & Hepper, M. & Hillenbrand-Gun, T. & Wang, L., 1995). No where is this more obvious than in Glen Ridge, New Jersey where, "on March 1, 1989, some boys ... invited a retarded 17-year-old girl to the basement of a house. In the basement were [these] 11 athletes, the most popular guys in town...

"These findings underscore the critical need for additional research and programming efforts designed to help men recognize the relation between their socially-learned views of male gender roles and their endorsement of and participation in violence against women" (Good, G. & Hepper, M. & Hillenbrand-Gun, T. & Wang, L., 1995). One program, a public service ad campaign, enlists men in the cause of educating boys. Called "Teach Early," the campaign invites fathers, teachers, coaches, and mentors to talk with boys about violence against women. "Teach Early" is sponsored by the Family Violence Prevention Fund and the Ad Council and employs various media. "A print ad, for example, shows boys in baseball uniforms, and the words: 'What they learn as boys, they do as men. That's why we need to teach our sons and other boys in our lives that violence against women is wrong. Now, when they need to hear it most'" (Martinez 2002).

The enormous negative impact on women violated by rape is evident by the high percentage of depression, Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome, substance abuse, and suicidal thoughts they experience as a result of being raped (Hodgson, J. & Kelly, D., 2004, p. 2). This is detrimental to the health of our society as a whole. When men rape, they are exhibiting the worst of human behavior. "It's an action taken by some members of our society, against others" (Anderson, 2004). Until society holds men responsible for this behavior, which is indicative of their sex dominance, and until society as whole defies such archaic gender role assumptions, that a man's views and perceptions matter more than a woman's, then men will continue to rape. Not until the ideas of how men are supposed to behave change, will rape be eliminated.

It is men who rape; therefore, it is ridiculous to expect women to stop the phenomena themselves. "Rape and battery are still defined as a woman's issue, because we are the victims. All too frequently, the reality of men's role in this social problem is overlooked-because we hesitate to say the obvious: men rape" (Anderson, 2004).

Because women have a second class status they must accept that some men rape and must rely on men who don't to protect them. Women have married men, let men create the laws, and had men tell how them how to behave, all in effort to prevent being raped. But, what has never occurred is a challenge to the system that creates the environment for rape in the first place. The very system that allows the existence of rape is the very system that gives men power and control in society.

In order to stop rape, men have to let go of and share this power. Men have to acknowledge that they have not, and do not, view woman as equals, and, that they, now, want to and are willing to, in a sincere effort to stop sexual violence and rape. Until our society does demand that men give up this power and until they soften their aggressive tendencies, rape will continue and men will continue to rape.

"The Treatment of Sex Offenders"

I interviewed a registered counselor who works with juvenile sexual offenders in an in-patient rehabilitation treatment center. She chose to remain anonymous, so I will call her Mary.

Mary has worked with sexual perpetrators for 13 years. I decided that interviewing her would be beneficial as I was interested in going straight to the offenders and learning why it is that they engaged in their criminal behavior. The purpose of this interview was to get an understanding of who sex offenders are and how our criminal justice and social system attempts to deal with them. Mary works directly with juvenile sex offenders and her experience and knowledge supports my research paper in many ways.

The Treatment Facility

The ages of the offenders Mary works with are between 12 and 18. The facility has many units, each varying as to how many juvenile residents are housed there. Mary says that each unit averages about 13 boys, but she normally works closely with anywhere between 5 and 10 boys.

Each unit is set up like a dorm, where the boys share rooms, and where there is a center "living" room with a television. On the facility grounds is, also, the administration building as well as the school building. The school building is where they spend most of their time during the day.

This is a locked down facility, therefore, it is almost similar to a low security prison. The residents are not allowed to leave unless they have been given permission and the average stay for a resident is 12-18 months-sometimes even longer.

The Program

The weekdays at the facility is set up like a school day, where they spend from 8:30am to 2:00pm in school. After school they have free time from 3:00 to 3:45pm and then they attend group discussion sessions until 4:45pm, when they prepare for dinner.

According to Mary, education is not a priority for these boys. They are in school because they are forced to be there and there really is very little their theacher can do to enforce studying and doing homework. As Mary put it, "there are so many disruptions [during classes], it is hard to get them to learn and to focus".

"Deprep", or the group discussions at 3:45pm, vary everyday. Depending on the day, the classes are Victim Awareness, Sex Education, Virtues, or Anger Management. For instance, in a victim awareness class, the goal is to try and get the boys to empathize with victims without allowing the boys to turn the attention back on themselves. The focus is on how the victim feels as opposed to the crime. Also, in virtues, the boy's values systems are addressed.

According to Mary, rehabilitation is only possible if the offender wants to change. However, usually the behaviors that the boys have, which lead to sexual assault, are behaviors with which they are reluctant to part. The goal, then, is to try and create positive reinforcement for good behavior and negative reinforcement for relapse behavior. Hopefully, this encourages the boys to alter their behavior patterns.

Mary was very honest, and expressed an incredible amount of compassion for these boys. However, she showed a keen awareness of the reality, and communicated such to me, that these boys have nowhere else to go and they are here because the system has no other place for them.

There are two labels that are given to the boys that enter the facility-sexually reactive and sexually aggressive. Mary explained that basically each label means the same thing except that sexually aggressive youth have been judicated for their sex crime and sexually reactive youth have not.

Who Sex Offenders Are and Why They Sexually Offend

Mary explained that Sex Offenders (SOs) are very angry young men who sexually assault those that are weaker than them, in order to dominate and control. These young men have learned to be sexually aggressive, either because they have been socialized to it or because they have been victims themselves.

They offend, simply, because they can and because they can get away with it. Because victims are somehow weaker than the offender, they usually are too afraid or not physically capable enough to stop the rape. In addition, they usually have very little recourse in order to hold the offender accountable for the rape.

The structure of our society breeds aggressiveness and dominance in males and silence and submissiveness in females. This is the perfect combination that makes rape possible. It is also very evident at this facility that it is our culture's allowance of aggressive tendencies in men that perpetuate sexual assault. If our society had no tolerance for violent behavior, young men would not be able to develop such traits.

Examples of Sexual Offenses

Most likely the offender knows the victim. He or she is younger, and is possibly a relative. Some sexual crimes are committed while the parents have entrusted their children to the care of the offender. The offender takes advantage of this position of "power" or authority and of the isolation from adults and rapes and assaults his victim.

Sometimes the offender will assault the younger sibling of a friend or will use an object other than his penis to rape his victims. Other times, the offender is a member of a gang and participates in gang rapes as way of building camaraderie and of showing his strength.

In all situations, it is the offender taking advantage of his position of strength or authority, as babysitter, or friend, to control and dominate a weaker and more vulnerable person.

Treatment

The most significant part of their treatment is to not allow them to get away with anything, no matter how inconsequential it may seem. There are no secrets and the boys are publicly held accountable for their behavior. If they are acting out or trying to sneak something by their administrator or counselor, they are not taken into a private room and talked to or quietly punished. Mary explained that the boys are called on their behaviors on the spot, no matter what the circumstance or who is present.

For instance, a very common behavior is to do something to get a reaction out of someone. They enjoy the shock value. This is because when they shock someone, they have control and are dominating the relationship. Therefore, they might do something like wear thin and too small boxer shorts with their genitals hanging out, wear low riding jeans without underwear, or write sexually explicit comments about their counselor on paper and have it lying out for the counselor to find. Instead of these behaviors being ignored, the boys are immediately informed, in front of everyone, that what they did is not okay. They also will lose certain privileges. Everyone in the facility knows what happened, and are privy to the consequences of such behavior.

It really is not, Mary explained, that the act of wearing jeans with no underwear is inherently bad. It is the fact that the reasons behind doing such a thing are the same as the reasons that lead an SO to sexually assault someone-for control.

Summery and Conclusion

Mary's explanation for why the boys, at her facility, sexually offend is in some ways different than the conclusions that I drew for my research paper. On a fundamental level, however, they are very similar. All sexual perpetrators fail to sympathize with their victim and the pain and suffering they cause them.

The offenders that Mary works with are different than, say, the fraternity brothers who spike a young woman's drink in order to incapacitate and rape her. The young men that Mary sees have severe mental and emotional problems. It is obvious that these boys do not, and even may never be able to, integrate into society, whereas some men, like the fraternity brothers, who do rape can otherwise function in society. However, while there are differences on the surface between different kinds of sex offenders, the fact remains that on a fundamental level, the causes of sexual aggression are the same.

All men who rape are socialized into being sexually aggressive and believe that there are very few consequences and quite a bit more benefit for their behavior. The fact remains that our society still has no sufficient way of dealing with sexual offenders. All sexual offenders seek to control and dominate and do not view their victims sympathetically.

While the boys at Mary's facility seek to offend to feel control and power, the men I discussed in my paper already feel that they have control and power. Therefore, until aggression and sexual dominance ceases to be associated with being a man, men will continue to have the access and capacity to rape and get away with it.

WORK CITED

Anderson, Kelly (2004). Only Men Can Stop Rape. Off Our Backs, 34 (9/10): 18-21. Retrieved April 8, 2005, from ProQuest database.

Conly, Sarah (2004). Seduction, Rape, and Coercion. Ethics, 115 (1): 96-122. Retrieved April 8, 2005, from ProQuest database.

Good, Glenn E. & Hepper, Mary J. & Hillenbrand-Gunn, Theresa & Wang,Li-Fei (1995). Sexual and Psychological Violence: An Exploratory Study of Predictors in College Men. Journal of Men's Studies, 4 (1): 59. Retrieved April 8, 2005, from ProQuest database.

Hodgson, J. & Kelly, D. (2004). Sexual Violence: Policies, Practices, and Challenges in the United States and Canada. Monsey, NY: Criminal Justice Press.

Hong, Luoluo, PhD. (2000).Toward a Transformed Approach to Prevention: Breaking the Link between Masculinity and Violence. Journal of American College Health, 48 (6): 269. Retrieved April 8, 2005, from ProQuest database.

Lefkowitz, Bernard (1999). Sexual Violence: Where Does It Come From? Family Life Matters. Retrieved April 8, 2005, from ProQuest database.

Martinez, Demetria (2002). Men Key to Ending War against Women. National Catholic Reporter 38 (40): 21. Retrieved April 8, 2005, from ProQuest database.

Taslitz, A. (1999). Rape and the Culture of the Courtroom. New York, NY: New York University Press.

Thornhill, Randy & Palmer, Craig T. (2000). Why Men Rape. Sciences, 40 (1): 30-37. Retrieved April 8, 2005, from ProQuest database.