As enlightened and compassionate as modern society has become towards gender equality, women continue in many ways to be second class citizens, if not outright slaves. Women in some countries and cultures obviously have it better than others. The extent to which family and obligation play into the formula often include the presence of a religion. Segregation, arranged marriages and even underage coupling are all widespread practices, even today, depending on which parts of the world you're referring to, and through which cultural lens. The crimes may seem quite serious to a more objective, 3rd party observer, but it is entirely possible, even likely that many of the people perpetrating them maintain a personal belief in God. They may even be devout members of an established religion, which may or may not provide internal guidance on how a woman's sexual rights are respected.
How one conducts himself/herself in life would therefore follow some kind of path to salvation, whether it be an Abrahamic God, Hindu pantheon, Buddhist spirit, etc. It would follow for those believers who are not living gods, that the rules were designed by others and we can not rewrite them to suit our own subject experience of judgment of ourselves. Being respectful to the part of society that is more than 50% of the population and not violating them, as we are told the god(s) of our faith want can and will clash against what many consider to be being a good acolyte. While we hope and expect we have kind and merciless deities to at least partially absolve us when mental derangement is a mitigating factor, what is the effect upon our immortal souls and/or spiritual afterlife when we force women to have sex against their will?
Yeah, maybe she was beaten and gang-raped. But... religion says it's her fault for going out unescorted after dark?
Please know that what one religion may consider foul and sin-worthy can be quite different than what another may consider tolerable. I am not looking for any rants explaining why one religion's worldview is superior to all others, or how defensible you consider it to rape someone, based on the woman's place in society, her permissiveness or previous conduct. It's always complicated, but the presence of a crying victim kind of speaks for itself, no matter how the rapist rationalizes it to himself. Myself, I believe this is a question left up to God to judge who shall be rewarded with bliss and who is damned. To pass judgment on others for what happens in the afterlife, is to speak for God, and is a sin. But we can of course keep asking questions and try to live well, free from chaos.
Is it a sin to rape a woman in all situations, and to procreate, even when it involves doing so against a woman's will? Arranged marriages and expected obligations of women are still very much common practice. And to what extent are the machinations of demons (if you believe in their influence) to be blamed or mitigated against?
