Facts about Rape (virtual, America, experience, pray, service)

[Green Gaia]

In a study conducted by the Department of Justice and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, researchers interviewed 8,000 women and 8,000 men. Using a definition of rape that includes forced vaginal, oral, and anal intercourse, the survey found that 1 in 6 women had experienced an attempted rape or a completed rape.

At the time they were raped:

22% were under the age of twelve
54% were under the age of eighteen
83% were under the age of twenty-five

In the same study, 1 in 33 men had experienced a sexual assault.

Prevalence, Incidence, and Consequences of Violence Against Women, U.S. Department of Justice, 1998

In the Rape in America study, 60% of the women who reported being raped were under 18 years old:

29.3% were less than 11 years old
32.3% were between 11 and 17
22.2% were between 18 and 24
7.1% were between 25 and 29
6.1% were older than 29
3.0% age was not available

Rape in America: A Report to the Nation, National Victim Center, 1992

Youths 12-17 are two to three times more likely to be sexually assaulted than adults.

National Crime Victimization Survey, 2000

Acquaintance rape is much more prevalent than stranger rape. In a study published by the Department of Justice, 82% of the victims were raped by someone they knew (acquaintance/friend, intimate, relative) and 18% were raped by a stranger.

From a report on Violence Against Women based on data from the National Crime Victimization Survey, Bureau of Justice Statistics, 1995

In the Rape in America study, 80% of the girls and women who were raped were victimized by someone they knew.

Rape in America: A Report to the Nation, National Victim Center, 1992

In the United States, a rape is reported about once every five minutes.

FBI Uniform Crime Report, 2000

Rape is called "the most underreported violent crime in America." In a large national survey of American women, only 16% of the rapes (approximately one out of every six) had ever been reported to the police.

Rape in America: A Report to the Nation, National Victim Center, 1992

Many surveys have been conducted to determine the prevalence and incidence of rape and sexual assault. The differences in findings across these various surveys are related to how rape and sexual assault are defined, characteristics of the sample selected for the study, screening questions, interviewer training and techniques, and other methodological and procedural issues. However, in virtually every victimization survey conducted, the number of unreported rapes and sexual assaults far exceeds those that are reported to authorities.

http://www.911rape.org/

[Terrywoodenpic]

I don't know how the various nations stack up on this.
I am sure the UK is almost as bad....but there are so few convictions, even when there is positive evidence of rape.

Terry___________________
Amen! Truly I say to you: Gather in my name. I am with you.

[QTpi]

This is from an e-mail I received recently and I wanted to share it with you.

Through a Rapist's eyes/Public Service Announcement

The training section of the police department came upon this article recently. The information contained in the article is invaluable to women who could potentially be victims of crime. I would encourage everyone to read this, and pass it on to those you care for. It is not intended to scare anyone. Those that have been through the PROTECT course, or the CCW courses know that we constantly emphasize awareness of surroundings. This article reinforces that concept.

A group of rapists and eight rapists in prison were interviewed on what they look for in a potential victim and here are some interesting facts:

1) The first thing men look for in a potential victim is hairstyle.
They are most likely to go after a woman with a ponytail, bun, braid or other hairstyle that can easily be grabbed. They are also likely to go after a woman with long hair. Women with short hair are not common targets.

2) The second thing men look for is clothing. They will look for women who's clothing is easy to remove quickly. Many of them carry scissors around to cut clothing.

3) They also look for women on their cell phone, searching through their purse or doing other activities while walking because they are off guard and can be easily overpowered.

4) The time of day men are most likely to attack and rape a woman is in the early morning, between 5 and 8:30 am

5) The number one place women are abducted from/attacked at is grocery store parking lots. Number two is office parking lots/garages. Number three is public restrooms.

6) The thing about these men is that they are looking to grab a woman and quickly move her to a second location where they don't have to worry about getting caught.

7) Only 2% said they carried weapons because rape carries a 3-5 year sentence but rape with a weapon is 15-20 years.

8) If you put up any kind of a fight at all, they get discouraged because it only takes a minute or two for them to realize that going after you isn't worth it because it will be time-consuming.

9) These men said they would not pick on women who have umbrellas, or other similar objects that can be used from a distance, in their hands. Car keys are not a deterrent because you have to get really close to the attacker to use them as a weapon. So, the idea is to convince these guys you're not worth it.

10) Several defense mechanisms he taught us are: If someone is following behind you on a street or in a garage or with you in an elevator or stairwell, look them in the face and ask them a question, like what time is it, or make general small talk, I can't believe it is so cold out here, we're in for a bad winter. Now that you've seen his face and could identify him in a line-up, you lose appeal as a target.

11) If someone is coming toward you, hold out your hands in front of you and yell Stop or Stay back! Most of the rapists this man talked to said they'd leave a woman alone if she yelled or showed that she would not be afraid to fight back. Again, they are looking for an EASY target.



12) If you carry pepper spray (this instructor was a huge advocate of it and carries it with him wherever he goes,) yelling I HAVE PEPPER SPRAY and holding it out will be a deterrent.

13) If someone grabs you, you can't beat them with strength but you can by outsmarting them. If you are grabbed around the waist from behind, pinch the attacker either under the arm between the elbow and armpit or in the upper inner thigh -- HARD. One woman in a class this guy taught told him she used the underarm pinch on a guy who was trying to date rape her and was so upset she broke through the skin and tore out muscle strands-the guy needed stitches. Try pinching yourself in those places as hard as you can stand it; it hurts.

14) Another particularly unfortunate experience is if you slap a guy's " parts ". It is extremely painful. You might think that you'll anger the guy and make him want to hurt you more, but the thing these rapists told our instructor is that they want a woman who will not cause a lot of trouble. Start causing trouble, and he's out of there.

15) When the guy puts his hands up to you, grab his first two fingers and bend them back as far as possible with as much pressure pushing down on them as much as possible. The instructor did it to me without using much pressure, and I ended up on my knees and both knuckles cracked audibly.

16) Of course the things we always hear still apply. Always be aware of your surroundings, take someone with you if you can and if you see any odd behavior, don't dismiss it, go with your instincts. You may feel a little silly at the time, but you'd feel much worse if the guy really was trouble.



^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

I’ve read this article pretty closely and I think the ONE thing that jumps out at me is this:

Always be aware of your surroundings.



If you are alone, when you get in the car close the door and lock it…….. don’t do as soooo many ladies do………….

Leave the door open while they arrange something in their purse or arrange some purchases on the front seat.

Then when they get everything arranged they close the door.



Stay well, stay safe……

[Shadow Wolf]

I wonder what the estimated error margin is for the rapes that are never mentioned. Maybe the 1 in 33 of men who reported sexual assualt is really much lower?

[Pardus]

I would say the number of rapes upon males is much higher, because males generally don't report such things.

[robtex]

qtpi I see those chain emails all the time for stranger rape but I understand date rape is a much bigger danger. Also, there is a trade-off or hidden cost of your proposal list. Going around "on guard" and in fear all the time is a heck of a way to go through life. Seems like "take volume nightly" should be added to that list to wind-down from that type of lifestyle.

It is upsetting on how little progress law enforcement has made with rapists over the years. Even with the small numbers incarcerated there should be a strong "rapist profile" avaliable to the public. Look at the extensive work on serial killer profiles. The model for profiling exists maybe it is just harder to do for rapists?

# 7 from your email was interesting. Wonder who did the poll and what the standard deviation was.

[Pardus]

I'm going to say something that will probably annoy people, but since most of the time those who react have never been raped themselves i really don't care.

"It is never your fault" is one of the stupidest lines ever.

Alot of the time victims have put themselves into a position of danger, now i do not excuse the rapist because noone should be raped, but even alot of victims realise that it is partly their fault it happened and either they learn to deal with that fact or live in denial which is not healthy.

It might have stopped happening to me earlier if i had taken certain actions, but we must live with our mistakes, but i find the biggest problem is the rest of society, there is no help for victims nor potential abusers because we do not wish to understand why it happens, we only wish to punish after the fact.

[Shadow Wolf]

And then people who are sedated from date-rape drugs and don't recall anything. I know of a gay guy who will trick straight guys into having a drink with him, only the straight guys is spiked with a form of date-rape drugs, and he takes advantage of it. I also know people who try to figure who hes done that to, because NO ONE will admit to it. So maybe the ratio is more like 1:15 or even 10.

That is a good email qtpi. Allthough I disagree with the rapist looking for women who are having a cell phone conversation, since that would very easily alert someone of a problem, the other pointers are good, especially the underarms. If you notice, very few people with upper arm band tattoos have them going all the way around thier arm. The reason is, the flesh on the under arm is very sensitive. But if the guy has full arm band tattoos, its a good bet punching thier wont phase him that much. And if you can an opening to punch thier, you don't have to punch hard for it to hurt.

[Mestemia]

Originally Posted by Pardus

I'm going to say something that will probably annoy people, but since most of the time those who react have never been raped themselves i really don't care.

"It is never your fault" is one of the stupidest lines ever.

Alot of the time victims have put themselves into a position of danger, now i do not excuse the rapist because noone should be raped, but even alot of victims realise that it is partly their fault it happened and either they learn to deal with that fact or live in denial which is not healthy.

It might have stopped happening to me earlier if i had taken certain actions, but we must live with our mistakes, but i find the biggest problem is the rest of society, there is no help for victims nor potential abusers because we do not wish to understand why it happens, we only wish to punish after the fact.

So rape is a punishment for being there?
For not paying attention to ones surrounding?

I have to totally disagree with this faulty thinking.
Rape is not a punishment.
And that is exactly what you have reduced it to with this post.
Rape is a crime.