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Rape is about power, not sex. A rapist uses actual force or violence — or the threat of it — to take
control over another human being. Some rapists use drugs to take away a person's ability to fight back.
Rape is a crime, whether the person committing it is a stranger, a date, an acquaintance, or a family
member.
No matter how it happened, rape is frightening and traumatizing. People who have been raped need
care, comfort, and a way to heal.
There are several meaning of rape and these are the following:
the unlawful compelling of a woman through physical force or duress to have sexual
intercourse.
any act of sexual intercourse that is forced upon a person.
In criminal law, rape is an assault by a person involving sexual intercourse with another person without
that person's consent. According to the American Medical Association (1995), sexual violence, and rape
in particular, is considered the most under-reported crime. Rape is also recognized as an element of the
crime of genocide when committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a targeted ethnic
group.
Though definitions vary, rape is defined in most jurisdictions as sexual intercourse, or other forms of
sexual penetration, of one person (not necessarily, though almost always "the victim") by another
person (typically "the accused" or "the perpetrator") without the consent of the victim. The term sexual
assault is closely related to rape. In some jurisdictions, rape is defined in terms of sexual penetration of
the victim with or without penetration of objects. Some jurisdictions also consider rape to include the
use of sexual organs of one or both of the parties, such as oral copulation and masturbation.
There are several Types of Rape, generally categorized by reference to the situation in which it
occurs, the sex or characteristics of the victim, and/or the sex or characteristics of the
perpetrator. Different types of rape include but are not limited to: date rape, gang rape, marital
rape or spousal rape, incestual rape, child sexual abuse, prison rape, acquaintance rape, war
rape and statutory rape. The victim does not have to be penetrated to be raped; the
perpetrator can use objects to stimulate the genitals. The perpetrator can use their hand to
stimulate the genitals. The perpetrator can use drugs or hypnosis to incapacitate the victim.
Rape is not always done for sexual satisfaction of the perpetrator. Blackmail, punishment,
curiosity, money, and power are all motives for rape, as well as sex.
There is no single theory that conclusively explains the motivation for rape; the motives of rapists can be
multi-factorial and are subject to debate. Several factors have been proposed: anger, a desire for power,
sadism, sexual gratification,and evolutionary pressures.