Rapists

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A Rapist is someone who involves other people in sexual activity against their will. The legal definition of rape commonly requires non-consensual coupling of penis and vagina to occur, although just about anything that can be done with or against genitalia may appear in legal codes somewhere on the planet, so someone who is defined to be a rapist in one jurisdiction may not be in another.

The rapist can be of either sex and of any sexual orientation. Their assault(s) can confirm or contradict their own preferences for sexual activity (e.g. a self-identified heterosexual man could attack either a woman (confirmation) or a another man (contradiction) or a self-identified homosexual woman could rape either another woman (confirmation), or a man (contradiction.)).

Rape is a crime in most countries so rapists usually choose to conceal their activities from public authorities, their families and friends, unless they too are complicit in the assault.

Rapists appear in all walks of life, and can be of any age or social status; these considerations may influence their choice of targets.

Rapists may commonly be held to be wild-eyed strangers lurking down dark alleyways concealing weapons alongside their evil intent. In fact they are likely to be known in some way to the target of their assault, typically as family members, friends, neighbours, employers or colleagues. Despite pervasive social, political and legal conceptions that males commit the majority of rape, research is beginning to show that female rapists are much more prevalent than they were thought to be when rape research was limited exclusively to male rapists.[1]

Contents 1 Why do people rape? 2 How rapes are committed 2.1 Male rapist profiles 2.2 Profiles of Women who rape and abuse children 2.3 Warning signs for potential female rapists

[edit] Why do people rape?

The belief that some people do not matter, have no rights, or cannot effect an outcome to their own advantage are strong incentives to other people to abuse them in a variety of ways, including sexually.

Someone who grows up in a family and social environment in which other people have no value may fail to develop any empathetic structures in their life and view the abuse of others' bodies as normal. Exposure to pornography is held to have this effect by some.

An unresolved childhood incident may fester into a profound hatred of one sex, typically the opposite to the later-to-become rapist, and this hatred may manifest itself in violent assault in adulthood.

The opportunity to rape may co-exist alongside the near certainity of getting away with it. This could easily apply within a family where even if a child complains they are likely to be disbelieved, particularly if their abuser is an adult of good standing within their community.

The belief that some people (usually women) do not have the right to occupy public spaces may prompt some men to commit assaults intended to punish the perceived trespass: the target will have "asked" for the assault they get.

In mens' prisons assaulting others may seem the only way to prevent oneself being so-treated or a way to acquire status in a limited environment.

Sex with junior colleagues may be seen as a prerogative of office. The junior may feel unable to respond for fear of the sack.

[edit] How rapes are committed

If someone intends to rape they can either attack at random or chose a target from among people known to them in some way. In both cases the attack can be either a carefully planned operation, or a moment of casual violence.

In a casual assault on a random target the rapist attacks where an opportunity to do so presents: for example, a lone pedestrian in an isolated alleyway that the rapist happens to be innocently using at the same time.

In a planned attack on a random target the rapist will have been patrolling the above mentioned alleyway (e.g.) for some time in the hope of finding sport there. A casual attack on a chosen target is the inverse of this: the rapist has been "patrolling" people known to them in some way and attacks at a moment when one of them is isolated and vulnerable.

An attack on someone known to the rapist can also be the result of a plan that has been refined over a period of time to trap just that person. This type of behaviour can be what is commonly referred to as "grooming" - where the rapist builds up the trust of an acquaintance only to exploit it. This type of assault causes moral panics over childrens' use of internet chat rooms in which ne'er-do-wells are able to achieve considerable influence over immature respondents.

[edit] Male rapist profiles

Dr. A. Nicholas Groth, author of Men Who Rape: The Psychology of the Offender, described four types of deliberate rapists, based on their motivations and behavior patterns. Forensic scientists, criminologists, and law enforcement agencies often use these profiles to analyze rapists, in the hope of preventing future rapes.

• The power-assertive rapist: This is argued to be the most common type of rapist, accounting for about 40 percent of all reported rapes. Wishing to be an alpha male, he tends to value machismo and physical aggression, and often rapes victims that he meets in public spaces, where he may pose as, or be, an authority figure. Power-assertive rapists rarely target specific people for rape and, while not intending to kill their victims, often traumatize and humiliate them.
• The power-reassurance rapist: Responsible for about 27.5% of reported rapes, this type of rapist has been described by law enforcers as the "gentleman rapist". He is usually:
  • of average intelligence;
  • not physically aggressive;
  • socially-deficient; and
  • unable to develop interpersonal or romantic relationships.

Usually, he will select and stalk a victim before committing the crime. The victim is usually someone whom he knows, eg. a neighbor or work acquaintance. Power-reassurance rapists often force the victim to emulate foreplay, and take "trophies" of the rape; they may even record the event in a personal journal. Power-reassurance rapists tend to be the least violent type of rapists, often fantasizing about consensual sexual relationships with women, rather than violent conquests.

• Anger-retaliatory rapist: Responsible for about 28% of rapes, this type of rapist is often a substance abuser, with impulsive behavior and anger-related pathologies. He does not target specific victims, and often feels a general animosity toward the gender of his target. The anger-retaliatory rapist's attacks are usually spontaneous and brutal, and while he does not intend to kill the victim, he may beat her or him to death if she or he resists. This rapist usually has below-average intelligence, and is likely to leave more evidence than other types of rapists.
• The anger-excitation rapist: This type of rapist, considered the most dangerous and elusive, accounts for about 4.5 percent of rapes. The anger-excitation rapist may or may not choose his victims selectively. Often sadistic, this type of rapist frequently murders his victim either to protect themselves from being identified, or for gratification beyond that given by the assault. FBI profilists lists this type as "sexually sadistic rapists."

According to John Douglas, the (legendary) FBI profiler, rapists tend to fall into four basic categories:

• "power-reassurance rapist" (driven by feelings of inadequacy),
• the "exploitive" rapist (impulse-driven and overtly macho),
• the "anger" rapist (who uses sex to displace his rage),
• the "sadistic" rapist, who gets aroused from the suffering of his victims.

[edit] Profiles of Women who rape and abuse children

Court TV's Crime Library lists 6 types of female sex offenders based on research by psychiatrist Janet Warren and psychologist Julia Hislop.

• Facilitators - women who intentionally aid men in gaining access to children for sexual purposes.
• Reluctant partners - women in long term relationships who go along with the sexual exploitation of a minor out of fear of being abandoned.
• Initiating partners - women who want to sexually offend against a child and who may do it themselves or get a man or another woman to do it while they watch.
• Seducers and lovers - women who direct their sexual interest against adolescents and develop an intense attachment.
• Pedophiles - women who desire an exclusive and sustained sexual relationship with a child.
• Psychotics - women who suffer from a mental illness and who have inappropriate sexual contact with children and/or adolescents as a result.

[edit] Warning signs for potential female rapists

According to Network LaRed woman on woman rape and domestic violence abusers exhibit certain behavior, including:

• Violent, negative verbal outbursts, throws objects, violates other's privacy, steals and/or breaks objects.
• Separating themselves from family in order to avoid jealous behavior.
• Exhibiting behavior that is overly co-dependent in terms of money, and desires a close friend/relative to be dependent of them (or vice versa).
• Not allowing a close friend/relative access to medications or health care.
• Claiming alcohol or drug abuse as an excuse for violent behavior.
• Uses guilt to force others into decisions.
• Humiliates others intentionally.
• Blatant disrespect of personal boundaries.
• Controlling, manipulative behavior.

This behaviour includes, but is not limited to, mothers or care givers who abuse their children.