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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Causes of sexual violence | 4/5 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Causes_of_sexual_violence | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T15:21:46.478064+00:00 | kb-cron |
Women in various countries face serious risks if they report rape. These risks include being subjected to violence (including honor killings) by their families, being prosecuted for sex outside marriage, or being forced to marry their rapist. This creates a culture of impunity that allows rape to go unpunished. "Delegation clauses" used in many nursing home contracts have been blamed for effectively permitting the rape of residents. Sexual violence committed by men is to a large extent rooted in ideologies of male sexual entitlement. How deeply entrenched in a community beliefs in male superiority and entitlement to sex are will greatly affect the likelihood of sexual violence taking place, as will the general tolerance in the community of sexual assault and the strength of sanctions, if any, against perpetrators. These belief systems grant women extremely few legitimate options to refuse sexual advances. Some men thus simply exclude the possibility that their sexual advances towards a woman might be rejected or that a woman has the right to make an autonomous decision about participating in sex. In some cultures women, as well as men, regard marriage as entailing the obligation on women to be sexually available virtually without limit, though sex may be culturally proscribed at certain times, such as after childbirth or during menstruation. Societal norms around the use of violence as a means to achieve objectives have been strongly associated with the prevalence of rape. In societies with a machismo ideology - emphasizing dominance, physical strength and male honor - rape is more common. Countries with a culture of violence, or where violent conflict is taking place, experience an increase in almost all forms of violence, including sexual violence.
== Family and other social supports ==
=== Early childhood environments === There is evidence to suggest that sexual violence is also a learned behavior in some adults, particularly in regard to child sexual abuse. Studies on sexually abused boys have shown that around one in five later molest children themselves. Childhood environments that are physically violent, emotionally unsupportive and characterized by competition for scarce resources have been associated with sexual violence. Sexually aggressive behavior in young men, for instance, has been linked to witnessing family violence, and having emotionally distant and uncaring fathers. Men raised in families with strongly patriarchal structures are also more likely to become violent, to rape and use sexual coercion against women, as well as to abuse their intimate partners, than men raised in homes that are more egalitarian.
=== Family honor and sexual purity === Another factor involving social relationships is a family's response that blames women without punishing men, concentrating instead on restoring lost family honor. Such a response creates an environment in which rape can occur with impunity. While families will often try to protect female members from rape and may also put their daughters on contraception to prevent visible signs should it occur, there is rarely much social pressure to control young men or persuade them that coercing sex is wrong. Instead, in some countries, there is frequently support for family members to do whatever is necessary, including murder, to alleviate the shame associated with a rape or other sexual transgression. In a review of all honor killings occurring in Jordan in 1995, researchers found that in over 60% of the cases, the victim died from multiple gunshot wounds, mostly at the hands of a brother. In cases where the victim was a single pregnant woman, the offender was either acquitted of murder or received a reduced sentence.
== Social climate theories ==
=== Feminist theories of male-female rape === A feminist theory of male-female rape is summarized by Susan Brownmiller's statement: "rape is nothing more or less than a conscious process of intimidation by which all men keep all women in a state of fear". Some feminists assert that male domination of women in socio-political and economic domains is the ultimate cause of most rapes, and consider male-female rape to be a crime of power that has little or nothing to do with sex itself. However, a 1983 study comparing 14 indicators of male dominance and the incidence of rape in 26 American cities found no correlations, except one where greater male dominance actually decreased the incidence of rape. Social learning theory of rape is similar to the feminist theory and links cultural traditions such as imitation, sex-violence linkages, rape myths (e.g., "women secretly desire to be raped"), and desensitization to be the core causes of rape.
=== Rape culture ===
Rape culture is a term used within women's studies and feminism, describing a culture in which rape and other sexual violence (usually against women) are common and in which prevalent attitudes, norms, practices, and media condone, normalize, excuse, or encourage sexualized violence. Within the paradigm, acts of sexism are commonly employed to validate and rationalize normative misogynistic practices; for instance, sexist jokes may be told to foster disrespect for women and an accompanying disregard for their well-being, which ultimately make their rape and abuse seem "acceptable". Examples of behaviors said to typify rape culture include victim blaming, trivializing prison rape, and sexual objectification. Rape culture as a concept and social reality was explored in detail in the 1975 film Rape Culture, produced by Margaret Lazarus and Renner Wunderlich for Cambridge Documentary Films.