SEX CRIMES -RAPE

Sex Crimes (Rape)

Sex Crimes -Rape

Introduction

Federal Bureau of Investigation defines Rape in the Uniform Crime Reports as the sexual intercourse with female by force and against her will (Sampson, p.88). In many cases, rape victims are reluctant to admit being raped due to prevailing social and cultural biases related to rape. Statistics and researches also show that it is difficult to charge and convict perpetrators of rape. The after effects of a raped victim are extremely terrible and can even lead to death. Sebold (Sebold, p.12).

Sexual violence, especially rape, is a major emerging health related issue in the United States of America. According to the NISVS survey conducted by the CDC - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 20 percent of the women and 1.5 percent of the men (in the U.S.) have been involved in rape cases at some times in the past, while about 50 percent of the women and 20 percent of the men have been victims of sexual violence (other than rape) at some point in their lifetime (this may include coercive sexual intercourse, unwanted and un-consented sexual contact as well as experiences).

Discussion

Rape basically is unwanted, forced sexual intercourse. It can happen to females or males, adults or children or elders, people with disabilities or even healthy people. It is a crime even if the assailant is a friend, a member of the family, or an acquaintance. Individuals often become victims of rape prior to the age of 25; this is true for about 3 out of every 7 women in the United States of America were reported to have been raped before they turned eighteen (18), while 10 out of every 27 women were reported to have been raped in between the age of 18 and 24. At a younger age it is quite hard for people to properly judge right from wrong, life for them is simply more reliant on impulse rather than rationale, most of the actions taken during early ages are usually regretful in the later years of the individual's life (Black et al, 2011).

Victims usually become a target for people who are closer to them or those who know them personally, this includes previous or current intimate relations, a friend or even an acquaintance. Recently, a news article about a female student being raped by a former student of the University of Idaho was circulating in the news. Jesse V., the assailant was sent to prison for five years and marked a sex offender, on the charges of raping a female student. They were both at a party when they walked outside and shortly began kissing, but, when the victim attempted to stop the intimate encounter, Jesse picked her up and took her behind a bush and there he raped her (Spokesman, 2013).

The rapists are not necessarily socially rejected or defunct psychopaths. In a recent news article, a man was accused of kidnapping and raping women while holding them captive for a time period of more ...