Example Of Argumentative Essay On Rape

Introduction:

Rape is a criminal offense that is prevalent in the society since the early days of history. As defined in the legal terms, rape is the unlawful commission of sexual intercourse or intrusion. It is historically defined as the unlawful and forceful sexual intercourse with women. The elements of this crime include force, penetration, and lack of consent. Most of the victims of rape are women who exerted their utmost physical resistance against their assailants. Even a husband who forces himself to his wife is considered as rape (Legal Dictionary).
The legislative act towards rape has been acted by the government through the Violence against Women Act (VAWA). This legislative act is a vital move of the government to promote advocacy against sexual assault, domestic violence, and other types of violence where women are the victims. The law created punishments for the perpetrators of the crime and help prevent the violence to women. Also, women that are victims of rape are given justice and protection against their perpetrators. The VAWA that has been enacted in 1994, was intended to change the perspective of the nations against the domestic violence, improve the provision and services for the victims, and foster deeper awareness. It also revises the previous manners for the criminal justice against the sexual crimes. VAWA became part of the administrative body under the Department of Justice in 1995 (Sacco).
Rape is a serious issue that affects the victims in the deepest ways. The legislative act of the government against women is essential to promote the welfare of the woman. Without this act, women would continue to walk in the darkness full of fear of being raped and sexually assaulted. It is but right to get justice against those people who commit rape against women. Just like the case of Junko Furuta, she was mercilessly raped and abused. However, there was no justice done for her since the perpetrators of the crime were not convicted with the appropriate punishment. Her story was a depressing and painful reality. Junko was kidnapped, raped, and tortured for about 44 days. However, her sufferings dissolved into the air as the people who were responsible for her death were not convicted. Instead, they are walking in this world as free men (Lawyer’s Update).
Rape is a serious crime that affects many aspects of the victim. This case requires serious attention from the society and the government. With the presence of the legislative acts that the government has been imposing, the civilians are protected and justified against any forms of sexual assaults and rape. Women, who are the general victims, must be able to walk free on the streets without the fear of getting rape. This paper focuses on the various aspects of rape. It includes the statistics for the prevalence of rape, the types of rapes, and some of the aftermath of this crime.

Facts about Rape:

The incidence of rape continues to top the criminal rates in the US and the whole world. According to the statistics, about 1 out 6 women in the US are victims of sexual assaults. There are about 17.7 million women in America that has been victims of rape. Majority of the victims of rape are women comprising about 9 out of the 10 victims of rape. The prevalence of men being victims of rape is only about 3%, with actual number of 2.78 million men in the year 2003. In the global context, the highest occurrence of rape is in the American Indian or Alaskan women comprising about 34.1%. Among the reported rape victims, 15% of which are children under the age of 12. The girls of the ages 16 to 19 are more likely to become victims of rape or any form of sexual assault (RAINN).
The notion of rape has been defined in the legislation since the year 1970s. In those times, most of the courts view the element of force in rape in the perspective of the victim, and the woman must demonstrate the physical resistance during the act of rape. The absence of the element of physical resistance is equated by the court as consensual sexual act, thus, there is no rape. The lack of consent is another element of rape. It includes the compulsion of force of the perpetrator to the victim as well as the incapacity of the victim to consent her part due to his minor age or incapacitated condition.
Rape can also be equated to sexual assault that can be divided into various degrees. The victims of rape often experience humiliating and painful procedures in the legislative process when she reports the act of rape against them. They undergo medical examination for the collection of evidences needed for the conviction of the suspect. Furthermore, they need to tell their story and reenact the events several times. In this process, the victims are stripped of their privacy while the case is under process (Legal Dictionary).

Types of Rape:

There are various cases of sexual assaults as defined by the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). The various forms of rape depend on the situation, the victim, and the rapist. Some of the types of rapes include household rape, date rape, serial rapist, college campus rape, and warzone rape.
The household rape or the marital rape is the unwanted rape of the husband towards his wife. There is the element of force, intimidation, and sexual intercourse without the other partner’s consent. Marital rape is a common issue among the households. Marital rape results to both emotional and physical consequences. Emotional effects include depression, inability to trust, and even traumatic stress disorder. This form of rape is a controversial type of rape due to the arguments of the automatic roles of the wives towards their husbands (Rapethetruevictim).
Serial rape is the type of rape where there is a series of rape cases occurring with serial rapists as the perpetrators. These serial rapists seek domination and control over their victims. The rape done involves the unwanted and uninvited sexual acts with element of force, threat, violence, and injury. It also includes the interpersonal violence of sexual act that is repeated to other victims. This form of rape usually includes psychopathy, and victim to offender interaction.
The warzone rape is also known as the wartime rape, is the form of rape that happens during times of war. Rape is one of the forms of demoralizing attacks towards the civilians of the opposing nations. This form of rape also occurs with the prisoners of war to show their power and dominion over their enemies. It is also a way of exerting power of the dominating party over their victims (Rapethetruevictims).

Stories of Rape:

There are many real life stories of rape that has been known. Some of these stories are depressing ones where the victims died without getting justice. There are also stories that showcase victory due to the justice that has been served for the victims. Most of the stories of rape are depressing stories. Majority of which are stories of women where the occurrence of rape has changed their lives entirely. The story of Junko Furuta is one of the most depressing and tragic rape case in the world. She suffered with sexual assault and other physical violence with a span of 44 days. However, her case didn’t end up victorious due to the unknown rapists and the perpetrators are still living as free men.

The Aftermath of Rape

The effects of rape are seriously affecting the victims. There are physical effects such as the rectal, gynecologic, and even forms of internal bleeding for the victims. There are also cases where the victim experience headaches, gastrointestinal disorders, and pregnancy complications. There are also psychological effects to the victims. The victims of rape mostly experience PSTS, or post traumatic stress disorder. They experience effects such as nervous breakdowns, suicidal thoughts, self-blame, panic attacks, memory problems, flashbacks, and other effects. There are also effects to the sociological and financial aspects to the victim (Rapethetruevictims). Victims tend to shy away from the society and develop various types of fears, traumas, and relationship deficiencies.

Conclusion:

Rape is a serious crime that affects the victims in the deepest ways. The effects of the crime are lasting. It is just right for the government to implement legislative acts such as the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) to protect the people from rapists and other sexual assault perpetrators. Due to these acts, the people gain confidence that they are protected against the people with negative intentions. The equivalent punishments towards rapist reduce the confidence of these perpetrators in committing crimes. The people should be able to walk along the streets without fear of getting rape or assaulted. The communities must be kept safe and the civilians must be protected from these crimes.

Works Cited:

Dockterman, E. “The Hunting Ground Reignites the Debate Over Campus Rape”. Time: Campus
Sexual Assault. (2015). Web
Lawyer’s Update. “Junko Furuta: Raped, Tortured, & Burnt Alive”. Crime File. (2012)
Legal Dictionary. “Rape”. The Free Dictionary. Farlex, Inc. (2015). Web.
RAINN. “Who are the Victims?”. Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network. (2009). Web.
Rapethetruevictim. “Types of Rape”. Rape: The True Victim. (2010). Web.
Sacco, L. “The Violence Against Women Act: Overview, Legislation, and Federal Funding”.
Congressional Research service. (2014). PDF.