Sexual Factors That May Affect

Sexual Factors That May Affect Human Behavior: Rape

The argument has been made, with the support of a growing body of scientific evidence, that modern humans continue to exhibit many of the traits that were developed as important survival mechanisms during the Stone Age where for humans, the survival of the fittest depended on reproductive success. Although the sexually violent act of rape has historically been regarded as criminal based on manmade laws, many cultures have subscribed to religions that make the victim of rape the woman in some Moslem countries, for example, while other countries in the West view rape as generally unlawful, but provide exceptions for marital rights according to the jurisdiction. In this environment, identifying sexual factors that can affect human behaviors such as rape represents a timely and valuable enterprise. To this end, this paper provides a review of the relevant literature concerning gender-based violence in general and rape in particular, and how human behavioralists view these issues. An examination of cultural factors that affect the perception and impact of rape is followed by a summary of the research and important findings in the conclusion.

Review and Analysis

Although precise numbers of difficult to come by, most authorities agree that gender-based violence represents a global public health threat. Moreover, in spite of its estimated prevalence in a number of countries throughout the world, there remains a paucity of reliable information in general and especially for developing countries (Philpart, Goshu & Miruts, 2009). In fact, it has only been in recent years that some developing nations have started collecting relevant data and investigating the prevalence and risk factors related to gender-based violence (Philpart et al., 2009). Although estimates vary, there is also a consensus that developing countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, continue to experience inordinately high rates of gender-based violence, including rape. According to Philpart and his associates (2009), "Gender-based violence, because of its high prevalence, limited access to legal services, insensitivity of law enforcement, and limited constitutional efforts to address gender inequality [is especially pronounced]" (2009, p. 123).

Moreover, in too many cases, there has been a fundamental lack of interest on the part of governments that can influence the incidence as well as the perception of rape in different societies, especially in developing countries where human rights obligations may be ignored and therefore not completely realized (Stacy, 2009). According to Stacy (2009), "These are the everyday human rights problems that lack the shock value of wartime atrocities. In Jordan signed the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in the early 1990s but has not managed to pass national legislation to prevent hundreds, possibly thousands, of 'honor killings'" (p. 7). These so-called "honor killings" place the blame for rape on women rather than the other way around and typically are regarded as a socially acceptable resolution to a difficult problem. In other words, from the perspective of some Moslem societies, it is women's fault if they get raped because they have placed themselves in this position and had they followed the rules and been accompanied by a male member of their family armed to the teeth with knives and guns, the rape would never have happened in the first place. In this regard, Stacy emphasizes that, 'Even women who are the victims of rape are considered to have compromised their families' honor; fathers, brothers, and sons then see it as their duty to avenge their honor, not by pursuing the perpetrators but by murdering their daughters, sisters, and mothers" (2009, p. 7).

From a Western perspective, these practices may appear bizarre and even barbaric, but this is the harsh reality facing rape victims in many countries where a lack of enforcement, religious practices and varying views on the criminality of rape remain the rule rather than the exception. Nevertheless, and irrespective of which culture a rape victim may be from, the outcome can have lifelong implications, that is if they are not stoned to death in a Moslem country first. The incidence of rape remains a matter of conjecture rather than certainty in any event because of the shame and secrecy that are associated with the crime. According to Schewe and O'Donohue (2009), "There is an increasing body of evidence attesting to the significant incidence and debilitating effects of sexual victimization. Although estimates vary depending on a number of methodological factors, some studies suggest that even before the age of 18 nearly half of all women will become victims of some form of sexual abuse" (p. 339). Although researchers continue to investigate the effects of resilience on rape victims and their subsequent recoveries, the research to date confirms the devastating effects these events can have on women from any country. In this regard, Schewe and O'Donoghue (2009) point out that, "Sexual victimization takes various forms, such as rape, sexual harassment, and child sexual abuse. The effects of sexual victimization on a person's life can range from mild to life-shattering" (p. 340).

Although every situation is unique with respect to the impact, there is also a growing body of evidence concerning the debilitating effects that rape can have on its victims. As Schewe and O'Donoghue conclude, "Victims commonly experience shock, humiliation, anxiety, guilt, a loss of self-esteem, isolation, anger, distrust, pain, depression, substance abuse, suicidal ideation, and sexual dysfunction" (2009, p. 341). The incidence of post-traumatic stress disorder among rape victims is well documented, and rape victims can experience both short as well as long-term effects from the experience. For instance, according to Min, Lee and Kim (2011), "Sexual violence not only harms its victims' immediate physical and mental health but may also cause long-term psychiatric sequelae for the rest of their lives" (p. 161).

Despite these adverse outcomes and the criminal nature of the act of rape, some scientists and sociologists maintain that even today, the human male is hard-wired to rape based on its proven contribution to reproductive success. In fact, Begley argues that, "Rape is an adaptation, a trait encoded by genes that confers an advantage on anyone who possesses them" (2009, p. 52). This Darwinian view suggests that all modern men are predisposed to rape, even if not all of them do so. Like Darwin's finches, ancient men who raped were simply acting as all alpha males do in order to increase their likelihood of reproducing. In this regard, Begley reports that:

Back in the late Pleistocene epoch 100,000 years ago, men who carried rape genes had a reproductive and evolutionary edge over men who did not: they sired children not only with willing mates, but also with unwilling ones, allowing them to leave more offspring (also carrying rape genes) who were similarly more likely to survive and reproduce, unto the nth generation. That would be us. And that is why we carry rape genes today. The family trees of prehistoric men lacking rape genes petered out. (2009, p. 52)

Although there remains a great deal of controversy concerning the existence of this so-called "rape gene," Begley (2009) argues that this explanation has a great deal of support in the relevant scholarly literature. Even if they are not readily identifiable as the "rape gene," it is reasonable to suggest that the proclivity to rape was historically associated with increased success at reproduction, irrespective of its contemporary moral and legal implications otherwise. In this regard, Begley notes that, "The argument was well within the bounds of evolutionary psychology. Founded in the late 1980s in the ashes of sociobiology, this field asserts that behaviors that conferred a fitness advantage during the era when modern humans were evolving are the result of hundreds of genetically-based cognitive 'modules' preprogrammed in the brain" 2009, p. 52).

Because these traits were genetically based, they were also able to be encoded in the human genome to the extent that they were communicated from one generation to the next unto the present day. According to Begley, "Since they are genetic, these modules and the behaviors they encode are heritable -- passed down to future generations -- and, together, constitute a universal human nature that describes how people think, feel and act, from the nightclubs of Manhattan to the farms of the Amish, from the huts of New Guinea aborigines to the madrassas of Karachi" (2009, p. 52). Moreover, because these traits are virtually universal within the human family, extrapolating a "rape gene" from the historical record also makes good sense. In this regard, Begley (2009) adds that despite the lack of firm evidence, the preponderance suggests the existence of a rape gene. For instance, Begley notes that, "Evolutionary psychologists do not have a time machine, of course. So to figure out which traits were adaptive during the Stone Age, and therefore bequeathed to us like a questionable family heirloom, they make logical guesses" (p. 52).

These logical guesses include how women have viewed potential mates in the past as well as today, but in any event, these modern perspectives are based on traits that have been inherited from time immemorial. For instance, according to Begley, "Men who were promiscuous back then were more evolutionarily fit since men who spread their seed widely left more descendants. By similar logic, evolutionary psychologists argued, women who were monogamous were fitter; by being choosy about their mates and picking only those with good genes, they could have healthier children" (2009, p. 52). Although modern men and women may not look like Cro-Magnums, they all want to act like them deep down inside because of these primordial drives. In sum, Begley concludes that, "We all carry genes that led to reproductive success in the Stone Age, and that as a result men are genetically driven to be promiscuous and women to be coy, that men have a biological disposition to rape and to kill mates who cheat on them, and that every human behavior is 'adaptive' -- that is, helpful to reproduction" (emphasis added) (p. 52).

This argument does make sense in many ways. After all, the argument goes, alpha males in other animal species routinely kill young offspring and even induce abortions in pregnant females in order to maximize their reproductive opportunities, and it is reasonable to postulate that the act of rape can be viewed in this context, even among purportedly "modern men." For example, Alfred Kinsey's seminal work in sex research explicated in Sexual Behavior in the Human Female found that "sexual behaviors that were considered rare and deviant in the 1950s were actually quite common" (Duke, 2009, p. 34). Citing a wide range of "deviant" sexual behaviors that were regarded as rare at the time, McKinsey concluded that, "Sexual promiscuity was normal, that children are sexual from birth and that rape is one of the most 'forgettable' crimes" (Duke, 2009, p. 34).

Likewise, Sanday (2007) suggests that the act of rape must be viewed in light of contemporary social practices as well as these innate biological drives that somehow compel even "normal men" to engage in abnormal acts. According to Sanday, "Anthropologists argue that while the capacity for sexual pleasure may be constitutional, human sexual behavior is rather a sociological and cultural force than a mere bodily relation of two individuals. This means that human sexuality sits precariously on the divide between individualized sensations and culturalized meanings, making it both preeminently social as well as physiological" (2007, p. 11). In other words, rape is a relative and temporally fluid concept that can change over time and from time to time. In this regard, Sanday suggests that the concept of "sexual culture" can help discern how criminal acts such as rape are viewed at a given point in time: "As sexuality straddles two worlds -- the biological and the social -- the major question for research concerns the social purposes served by types of sexual behavior. This question is answered by introducing the concept "sexual culture" (2007, p. 11).

Consequently, the act of rape involves a wide range of sociocultural as well as temporal factors that affect how it is perceived. In societies where rape is regarded as "normal," it is reasonable to expect higher rates of rape. Conversely, in societies where there are severe penalties associated with the act of rape, it is reasonable to suggest that rapes would be less commonplace, making this analysis dependent on time and place. In this regard, Sanday emphasizes that, "Because human sexual behavior is a sociological and cultural force guided by public sexual cultures -- such as reflected in pornography, the media, and religious education -- we must begin by examining popular, historically-based models for human sexual expression" (2007, p. 11).

In order to understand how rape is viewed at a given point in time, then, requires an investigation of the larger social context in which it takes place, including the perspectives of the women who are involved who may have simply been looking for a mate. As Sanday points out, "Understanding how sexual behavior has been conceived at various times in our history uncovers trends that promote female sexual choice in some contexts and deter it in others" (2007, p. 11). The determent of rape based on criminal sanctions is one thing, especially in countries where the resources exist to enforce the laws, but some authorities argue that rape is just part of the human condition because man is part of the animal kingdom. For instance, Harlow (2010) points out that, "A range of evidence establishes that virtually all of the acts considered 'sinful' in humans are part of the natural repertoire of behavior among animals -- especially primates, but also birds, insects, and other species -- behaviors including deception, bullying, theft, rape, murder, infanticide, and warfare, to name but a few" (p. 179).

Despite the "naturalness" of the act, rape is a crime in most countries. According to Black's Law Dictionary (1991) rape is the "unlawful sexual intercourse with a female without her consent; the unlawful carnal knowledge of a woman by a man forcefully and against her will" (p. 1260). Although Black's definition for marital rights includes "society" and "comfort," it does not specifically stipulate that there is a legal right to sexual intercourse within the marital relationship. Nevertheless, married men around the world in developing and developed nations alike have largely enjoyed the right to unrestricted sexual relations with their wives based on longstanding traditions related to religious views or social practices. Many women, single and married, of course, have different views about this issue. In this regard, Auster and Leone (2001) report that, "Human rights activists and women's rights advocates have fought to change U.S. legislation prohibiting a wife from pressing criminal charges against her husband for marital rape. As of 1993, marital rape became a crime in all fifty states, in at least one section of the sexual offense codes, usually regarding force" (p. 141). In spite of these reforms, there remain some exemptions for husbands from prosecution for rape in 32 states, and some states consider marital rape to be a lesser crime compared to nonmarital rape or rape by a previously unknown assailant (Auster & Leone, 2001). On a positive note, increased awareness and attention from lawmakers suggests that the penalties for marital rape may be enhanced in the future (Auster & Leone, 2001). For instance, these authorities add that, "Nevertheless, greater public awareness of such issues as domestic violence, child abuse, and incest has led to increased attention to family violence in general, and, more recently, some social scientists have become attentive to the issue of marital rape" (Auster & Leone, 2001, p. 141).

These advances, though, have been constrained by the nature of the rape act itself. In this regard, Lukima (2011) emphasizes that, "Sexual violence is a crime of secrecy and silence, and it often invokes denial. Rape, a form of sexual violence, is a devastating and often violent crime" (p. 48). Likewise, Goode (2008) argues that the act of rape is a criminal act by definition since it involves violence which is illegal under existing laws as well as others specifically related to the act of penetration by force. According to Goode (2008), the violent act of rape not only satisfies the strict criteria for a crime, the crime itself is far more horrendous than this definition indicates because of the enormous effect it has on its victims. In this regard Goode emphasizes that, "The reality of rape can be an ultimate submission out of fear, terror, or the inability to demonstrate nonconsent (because of drugs, alcohol, or mental or physical disability), but rape occurs in the absence of consent, not in the absence of dating (Goode, 2008, p. 137).