Understanding Psychology (10th Ed)

 RAPE 
 Rape 
occurs when one person forces another person to submit to sexual activity such 
as intercourse or oral-genital sex. Although it usually applies to a male forcing a 
female, rape can occur when members of either sex are forced into sexual activities 
without their consent.
Most people think of rape as a rare crime committed by strangers. Unfortunately, 
they are wrong on both counts. In fact, rape occurs far more frequently than is com-
monly thought, and rapists are typically acquaintances of their victims. Although it is 
hard to obtain reliable estimates, most research suggests that there is a 14–25% chance 
that a woman will be the victim of a rape during her lifetime. Furthermore, more than 
200,000 sexual assaults directed against women are reported to police in the United 
States each year. However, only about one-third of rapes and sexual assaults are reported 
to police, so the actual fi gure is much higher (Wiehe & Richards, 1995; Catalano, 2006). 
Furthermore, a national survey conducted at 35 universities revealed the startling 
fi nding that one out of eight female college students reported having been raped. 
Among the women who had been raped, about half said the rapists were fi rst dates, 
casual dates, or romantic acquaintances—a phenomenon called
 date rape. 
Girls in 
high school also suffer both sexual and physical abuse: In one survey, 9% of 14- to 
18-year-old girls said they had been forced into sexual activity by a date, and in more 
than half of those cases the incident had been accompanied by hitting, slapping, or 
shoving (Koss, 1993; Ackard & Neumark-Sztainer, 2002; Aiello, 2006).
Women in some segments of society are more at risk for rape than are others. 
Although the likelihood of sexual assault is considerably lower among Latino 
rape
The act by which one person 
forces another person to submit to 
sexual activity.
date rape
Rape in which the rapist 
is either a date or a romantic 
acquaintance.
“Frankly, I’ve repressed my sexuality so long I’ve
actually forgotten what my orientation is.”
© Rober
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