What makes rape a crime of power and or shame?

Rape as a Crime of Power
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December 17, 2020
Understanding the relationship between crimes and the sociopolitical phenomena that drives them is important for any law enforcement agency. It allows them to have a better understanding of how the external circumstances relate to the personality of an individual, thereby creating the necessary conditions for him to perpetrate the crime. Accordingly, one of the most common crimes that are committed all over the world is the crime of rape. In the United States alone, it was reported that the annual rate of ‘rape or sexual assault victimizations’ amount to 1.7 per 1000 people in 2019. Although this represents a significant decline from 2.7 per 1000 people in 2018, the fact that the rate of rape and sexual assault is high still suggests that further improvements should be made, through an analysis of the nature of rape. Thus, this article would focus on the idea that crimes of rape and sexual assault are ‘crimes of power’. All in all, the author believes that by treating rape as a crime of power, it becomes easier to place preventive measures that could further reduce its rate in the future.[See US DoJ - BJS, report on Criminal Victimization, 2019 for further information]
Rape as a Crime of Power
One of the reasons why rape is considered a crime of power is because the most common reason for its perpetration is to deprive another human being of their liberty and that it violates their sense of space. It is worth noting that one’s sense of space and liberty are not only considered as a ‘right vested by law’ but even one that transcends the sphere of human consciousness. Simply said, all humans have an innate tendency to create their sense of ‘personal space’, which is one that should not be violated by any external force.
However, rape is considered a crime of power because the manner and reason of its perpetration are motivated by the idea to violate this personal space. Although it might seem that the perpetrators are primarily driven by an uncontrollable desire to have sexual interaction (due to the use of their sexual organs), the act of forcing oneself towards the other and entering his private parts into another violates the victim’s sense of space (Filipovic, 2013). Accordingly, this also suggests a power play that exists between the victim who has the right over his personal space and the perp...