Rape is typically the personification of one of the most expressive forms of dominating sex acts committed by a man over a woman. The understanding of the issue surrounding the act itself is in most cases extremely distorted, many still view it largely in terms of dealing with the woman’s sexuality than the man’s coercion. This understanding is ignorant of the context in which the rape is occurring, the relationship between the rape and the rapist and the social implications of the crime.

The intentions behind rape cannot be explored solely within the confines of the event itself but within the contextual truth. When a woman is raped the moment itself is symbolic of the shift in power, the attainment of the assailant’s coercive power over her, where she is made to feel completely powerless and at his mercy. The assailant's act of power and domination is linked and nurtured by the invisible powers of our societal values, norms and beliefs that result in framing our daily interactions. Our daily interactions are reflective of our assumed roles as women-supposedly submissive, vulnerable and passive, while men are powerful, dominating and in control. These informal societal roles play a decisive role in sustaining violent and overtly conformist acts by turning a blind eye to it or by systematic justification so as not to disrupt a self-serving social structure.


Systematic justification may include stereotypically categorizing the act of rape by labelling the assailant and victim. However, it is usually the case that most rapists are psychologically astute and defined as normal and not stereotypically defective members of the society with a character resemblance to “sex-crazed” or “abnormal”. It is also the case that their victims don’t resemble the seductive and inviting typecast. Most rape cases indicate the perpetrators to be a close relative, relation or acquaintance. Therefore, it would force us to question if rape is solely a sex-based crime targeting provocatively dressed women who somehow transmit subliminal messages to their attackers. It poses also the question why a six-year-old girl would also be a rape victim.

The legal response to rape victims in our society is also inconsistency with the perpetrator's interest and not the victim's, which is also linked to the lack of reporting from victims seeking legal reprimand. The response and treatment directed towards victims is in most cases re-victimizing and re-violating as they are viewed as having provoked the incident. A victim is in most cases forced to prove her innocence and show evidence that she has tried to resist instead of the state trying to prove the assailant's guilt. The process is effectively based on the intention that the victim should share the blame for being attacked, which has led many victims to rationalize and accept the incident. This is highly unusual as the same practice is not reflected during the investigation process of other crimes, when a person reports a robbery he/she is not asked to prove why he/she was robbed.

One should consider the implication of the crime by the limitations and restrictions it places upon a woman’s social and economical freedoms. The fear of sexual assault imprisons the ability of a woman to interact freely, move freely and engage in independent ventures. The mere fact that she has been deprived of her choice to consensually engage with a partner of her choice completely disempowers her emotionally and physically while destroying her self-confidence, sense of self-worth and value. Therefore, she is made to become dependent on her male counterparts for economic and social survival. As a result, we cannot confine and interpret rape as a sex crime but a sex-based violence with the merits of our socialization.

By Bethlehem Mengistu