Sexual Harassment And Rape Essays - Rape, Date Rape, Types Of Rape

Sexual Harassment And Rape Sexual Harassment and Rape Cheryl, sixteen, trainer for her high-school girls volleyball team and photographer for the school newspaper, arrived at the gym at about 9:00 Saturday for a volleyball tournament. She left her purse and equipment with friends while she went to the restroom. When the game started and she hadnt returned to the teams bench, her friends went to look for her. Her raped body was found behind some stage backdrops on the balcony of the school auditorium(Booher 12). Sexual harassment and rape are prevalent in all aspects of society. Sexual harassment is unwelcome behavior of a sexual nature that makes someone feel uncomfortable or unwelcome by focusing attention on their gender (http://www.de.psu.edu/harassment/whatif/). There are many different forms of sexual harassment including sexual comments, jokes, gestures, looks, pictures, photos, illustrations, messages, and rumors. Other forms such as calling gay or lesbian, spy on people dressing, flash or moon, touch or grab sexually, pull at clothes, corner in sexual way, or force to do something sexual are also forms of sexual harassment(Parrot 2). Statistics show that eighty-one percent of teens, ages thirteen to eighteen, have been sexually harassed in school alone. In school the number of teens who are sexually harassed are astounding. Eighty-five percent of female teen are sexually harassed in school, which is slightly higher then the seventy-six percent of male teens harassed(3). One in ever four girls, and one in every seven boys, are sexually harassed on a daily basis(Cooney 18). There are many myths about sexual harassment that causes people to stereotype potential attackers. Eighty percent of the time the sexual abuser is someone known and trusted by the victim(13). In father-daughter and father-son sexual abuse, the natural father is most likely to be the abuser(14). The sexual abusive parent is usually considered a model citizen(16). The victim is never at fault in sexual abuse(15). Rape is forced sexual intercourse against the will of the victim(Valle 58). There are five main types of rape, acquaintance, date, marital, soft, and gang rape(Parrot 18). Rape can happen to both males and females although in most cases the female is the victim(Cooney 39). Acquaintance rape is forced intercourse, or other sexual act, that occurs between two people who know each other. This could be a date, teacher/student, friend of the family, employer/employee, husband/wife, doctor/patient, friend. Date rape is only one form of acquaintance rape(Parrot 18). Date rape is forced sexual intercourse, or other sexual act, that occurs between a dating couple or while on a date(Parrot 18). Most date rapes are not reported because the victim feels in some way that it is their fault. They may think that because they were flirting heavily that they lead the rapist on and made them think that they wanted to have sex. Any type of forced intercourse is rape(Shuker-Haines 47). Marital rape is forced sexual intercourse, or other sexual act, that occurs between husband and wife. Some states do not legally recognize this as rape. Even in states where marital rape is against the law it is impossible to obtain a conviction unless the couple are separated or divorced or unless some other form of violence such as assault and battery accompanies the rape(Parrot 18). Soft rape is forced sexual intercourse, or other sexual act, in which coercion, pressure or intimidation, or threat of coercion is used to gain the victims compliance. Another definition is when one is forced into a sexual act by duress, verbal threats of harm, during intoxication, or using date rape drugs, basically, rape without physical force(http://www.crosswinds.net/~castlesintheair/boughtandsold/slinkyredthing.html). There is not a lot of information about soft rape because it is rarely reported. Gang rape is forced sexual intercourse by more then on assailant. This is common in gang initiations where the new comer is rape by the entire gang. This is also common in prisons to establish ranks between inmates. The effects on a victim of rape are extreme. Victims of rape are hurt by three things, the rape itself, their own doubts about what happened, and by the doubts of others about what happened(Shuker-Haines 13). Victims of rape my become severely depressed, overeat, anorexic, suicidal, or self-mutilating. There are four major signs that a women gives when she is not will to have sex. The