Rape: Unconsented & Unlawful Sexual Activity

 “Hello there! I’m here to provide you with a bit of information on what rape is, its various facets, and the Indian laws relevant to this abuse. What you, as a survivor, are experiencing, post confronting a traumatic experience is normal. What you, as a bystander, are going through while supporting a survivor is absolutely okay and typical too!  If you need additional resources or just someone to talk to, feel free to reach out to The Neeti Project."

Written By: Arya Sambaragimath

What is Rape? 

Rape refers to the act of unconsented sexual intercourse. The nuances in defining rape differ based on country and region. The defining characteristics mostly involve unconsented and unlawful act of sexual penetration.

In majority of rape cases, the act of intercourse happens through force, coercion, or because of authoritative power. In other cases, rape also takes place is situations where the victim is unable to provide consent, or their consent is uninformed or invalid. For instance, acts of intercourse when the victim is unconscious, or under the influence of narcotics and alcohol can count as rape.

Why is the Frequency of Rape Difficult to Measure? 

Rape is a form of sexual violence that is significantly difficult to track and measure. This is primarily because of underreporting of rape cases. Majority of rape victims simply choose not to report it. This may be due to multiple reasons including embarrassment and fear, as well as probability of facing social repercussions such as victim shaming.

Comparing rape statistics across countries may prove to be of little use because of the following reasons (World Population Review, 2022):

• Each country defines rape differently, some regions include any form on nonconsensual sexual intercourse to be rape while others require a certain degree of violence and sexual intercourse.

• Some countries fail to classify non consented sexual intercourse between married individuals as rape, while others do.

• Sex with minors is classified separately from total rape statistics while others do not.

• In some countries rape only includes unconsented vaginal penetration whilst in other countries rape includes any unconsented penetration of the mouth, anus, vagina, or urethra. 

• Some countries calculate only male-on-female rape, whilst others include female-on-male, male-on-male and female-on-female as rape.

• Countries also differ in size, and population density, making rape cases more or less likely. 

As a result of the points mentioned above, comparing rape rates across regions and countries provide little information at a glance. This, combined with the fact that rape is underreported almost everywhere, rape statistics do not entirely represent the realistic cost to society.

Who is Typically a Victim or Survivor of Rape (according to research)?

• A very large number of reported rape victims are women.
• Most victims of rape are in the age range of 18-30.
• In India of the 28,000 victims of rape in 2020, 17,740 were between ages 18 and 30.
• A majority of rape victims were unmarried and from low socio-economic backgrounds (Kanwal, 2021).

Who is Typically the Perpetrator of Rape (according to research)?

• The perpetrator is almost always male.
• The perpetrator is most likely to be either an acquaintance of the victim, or a stranger.
• Other common relationships between the perpetrator and the victim include Neighbors, Friends, Classmates/Batchmates, Teachers, or Employers (Al-Azad et al., 2012).

What are Some of the Causes of Rape?

Though narrowing down the exact causes of each case of rape may not be possible, studies have looked at broad societal and psychological causes of most rape cases. Though these findings may not be the sole causes of rape globally, they help highlight certain correlations in regions where cases of rape are highest and probable causes.

1. Economic reasons:
Like most crimes, economic reasons are the most common and prevalent motives for rape. Though rape rarely occurs due to direct economic motives, perpetrators from economically disadvantaged backgrounds are more likely to commit the crime. Studies highlight that this is because of the low opportunity cost to individuals from these backgrounds. However, there also exists research that highlights the socio-economic ambiguity of rape. Simply put, individuals engage in acts of rape and other forms of sexual violence regardless of the socio-economic status. Studies argue that opportunity costs of rape are low regardless of sexual background (Basu Roy & Ghosh Dastidar, 2018).

2. Legal reasons:
Another significant cause of rape is simply the lack of effort put into preventing it as well as little legal action taken after it occurs. Inefficient policing, and a poor legal system are characteristics are some examples. This adds to the previous argument of low economic costs of committing rape. When combined with the fact that most cases go unreported and legal action is not taken; rape becomes a crime that has far less consequences than most other crimes (Basu Roy & Ghosh Dastidar, 2018). The presence of rape myths that have been discussed further on are also a contributing factor.

3. Position of women in society:
A problem faced by many countries is the existing sense of patriarchy in society. Most of these countries are historically patriarchal and to an extent continue to be so today. Women are considered “weaker” and are still thought of as the “inferior sex” in these communities. In countries like India, women play a “dichotomous role” (Basu Roy & Ghosh Dastidar, 2018), In certain communities, women represent goddesses who ought to be respected and worshiped as they bring money to the household. Contrastingly, women are also subjected to patriarchal ways of thinking and are required to behave submissively. Researchers argue that in the Indian context a new form of patriarchal society emerged where women are allowed to be educated but remain subjugated in other ways. Men are still given a sense of power and hence believe that they can take advantage of women (Basu Roy & Ghosh Dastidar, 2018).

What are some Myths about Rape?

Rape myths are a significant contributor to the creation of an environment or a society that justifies the crime. Rape myths are essentially a collection of beliefs regarding rape, violators, and victims they are made up of stereotypes surrounding victims, victim blaming, perpetrator exoneration. Most common rape myths have been listed below (Edwards et al., 2011):

• Women get raped because of the way they dress.

• The victim could have avoided the rape if they resisted and fought back.

• Husbands cannot and do not rape their wives.

• Women enjoy rape.

• Women falsely accuse men and lie about rape.

Rape myths can be extremely dangerous, as they not only allow for rapes to occur, but they also justify their existence. Studies highlight that male members of society are more likely to believe and engage in the spreading of rape myths. Furthermore, even if these rape myths are not discussed explicitly among members of a community, it is likely that they are more implicit and subconscious (Edwards et al., 2011). Another reason why rape myths can be very dangerous is because of their ability to seep into institutions that are built to combat rape and provide help to victims such as police forces, and the judicial system (Basu Roy & Ghosh Dastidar, 2018).

How Can You Seek Help for Rape?

In India:

• Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code defines rape.
• Significant changes were made to the IPC after the 2012 Delhi gangrape case. Prior to the case the IPC defined rape as the unconsented penile-vaginal penetration. After the case, the IPC identifies any form of penetration of the vagina, anus, and mouth with a penis or any object as rape.  
• Victims of rape are offered support from the government by way of the judicial system as well as the welfare schemes set in place. Welfare schemes for victims of rape are offered by the central government as well as state governments. 
• The State Legal Services Authority as well as District Legal Service Authority offer welfare assistance to victims and provide compensation of upto 10 lakh rupees. 
• There also exist multiple NGOs that offer legal, financial, medical, and psychological support to survivors of rape. 
• SOS medical services and trauma response is provided and can be accessed by contacting the national women’s helpline. 
• The National Commission for Women also provides legislative help to survivors. The commission has dedicated cells to aid women such as the complaints and investigations cell and the legal cell under which cases of rape can be registered.

***

References

Al-Azad, M. A. S., Raman, Z., Ahmad, M., Wahab, M. A., Ali, M., & Khalil, M. I. (2012). Socio-demographic characterstics of alleged sexual assault (rape) cases in Dhaka City. Journal of Armed Forces Medical College, Bangladesh, 7(2), 21–24. https://doi.org/10.3329/jafmc.v7i2.10391

Basu Roy, S., & Ghosh Dastidar, S. (2018). Why do men rape? understanding the determinants of rapes in India. Third World Quarterly, 39(8), 1435–1457. https://doi.org/10.1080/01436597.2018.1460200

Edwards, K. M., Turchik, J. A., Dardis, C. M., Reynolds, N., & Gidycz, C. A. (2011). Rape myths: History, individual and institutional-level presence, and implications for change. Sex Roles, 65(11-12), 761–773. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-011-9943-2

Kanwal, S. (2021, October 11). India: Reported rape victims by age group 2020. Statista. Retrieved September 2, 2022, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/633782/reported-rape-victims-by-age-india/

Nalsa's Compensation Scheme for women victims/survivors of sexual assault/other crimes - 2018. National Legal Services Authority! (2019, March 5). Retrieved September 2, 2022, from https://nalsa.gov.in/services/victim-compensation/nalsa-s-compensation-scheme-for-women-victims-survivors-of-sexual-assault-other-crimes---2018

R. Sharma, R., Pardasani, R., & Nandram, S. (2014). The problem of rape in India: A multi-dimensional analysis. International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, 7(3), 362–379. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijmpb-10-2013-0061

Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network. (n.d.). Victims of sexual violence: Statistics. RAINN. Retrieved September 2, 2022, from https://www.rainn.org/statistics/victims-sexual-violence

Sorry, you need to enable javascript to visit this website. National Commission for Women. (n.d.). Retrieved September 2, 2022, from http://www.ncw.nic.in/

World Population Review. (2022). Rape statistics by country 2022. Retrieved September 2, 2022, from https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/rape-statistics-by-country