Rape

Unfortunately, rape is a commonly reported crime in this day and age and it is happening worldwide. Many people believe that this crime happens due to liberalism in society. The Wikipedia definition states that rape is when one person forces another to commit a sexual act against the other’s will by either physical force, intimidation, blackmail or other threats and actions. Just because the victim is unable to say ‘no’ does not mean that the sexual act is not rape, since the effects of intimidation, drugs or alcohol, or age of consent can have an effect.

It is unfortunate that many rape cases go unresolved because the victim is afraid to speak out, feels shameful about the situation, or do not want to suffer the repercussions of speaking out. From a survey conducted in 1999 by the United States National Crime Victimization Survey, 39% of all rape and sexual assault cases were reported. The victims of rape are mostly women, but it is difficult to present concrete facts because rape cases for men are severely unreported – less than 10% of all male rape cases are reported to the police. Date rape is also a big problem, with the use of drugs to make the victim more suggestible and trusting, and likely to forget the events of the previous evening. Ketamine, GHB and Rohypnol are the three most commonly used date rape drugs. The effects of these drugs range, either making them physically helpless, more relaxed and open to things they would usually say no to, and also effecting the memory of the events while under the influence of the drug. A prominent case of date rape is the case of Paul Bernado and Karla Homolka. This was a serious case with the psychopathic Karla allowing her boyfriend to date rape her sister. Horrifying cases like this are all too common, and the fact that such events are difficult to remember for the victim makes things even worse.