[1][2] Theories on the causes of sexual violence are numerous and have come out of many different disciplines, such as women's studies, public health, and criminal justice.
[3] Proposed causes include military conquest, socioeconomics, anger, power, sadism, traits, ethical standards, laws, and evolutionary pressures.
[6] For these rapists, rape becomes a way to compensate for their underlying feelings of inadequacy and feeds their issues of mastery, control, dominance, strength, intimidation, authority and capability.
[13] The cognitive traits and attitudinal biases associated with a propensity to commit acts of sexual aggression come from socio-cultural research and says that forms of sexual aggression come from false beliefs of gender relations, misdirected objectives (i.e. only dating to have sex), and erroneous impressions of social interactions (linked to gender relations).
[15] The cognitive biases that add to one's propensity to commit acts of sexual violence include a feeling of entitlement (entitlement to sex), and the beliefs that women are sex objects, men's sexual drive is uncontrollable, society is dangerous, and women are unpredictable and dangerous.
[17] The difficulties arise when sexual aggressors are not able to understand their emotional states so that when confronted with a situation that trigger their arousal/motivation systems, they become confused and may have issues controlling their behavior.
[18] An inability to adapt plans to deal with unforeseen situations or having limited problem-solving skills (the action selection system) and maintaining maladaptive beliefs categorized by erroneous interpretations of social encounters (perception/memory systems) can also contribute to a greater tendency to commit acts of sexual violence.
This model is based on the idea that sexual aggression is indicative of problems starting and managing enjoyable intimate relationships.
[23] This lens is best used when describing sexual violence that includes known victims (such as incest, date rape, domestic abuse, etc.)
[32] Some researchers have noted[33] that alcohol may act as a cultural break time, providing the opportunity for antisocial behavior.
[37] Such men may misread cues given out by women in social situations and may lack the inhibitions that act to suppress associations between sex and aggression.
Lawlessness during wars and civil conflicts can create a culture of impunity towards human rights abuses of civilians.
[47][48] In 2008, the United Nations Security Council argued that "women and girls are particularly targeted by the use of sexual violence, including as a tactic of war to humiliate, dominate, instil fear in, disperse and/or forcibly relocate civilian members of a community or ethnic group.
"[49] Refugees and internally displaced people who flee their homes during war and major disasters can experience human trafficking for sexual or labour exploitation due to the breakdown of economies and law and order.
[51] Following the 2010 Haiti earthquake, large numbers of women and girls living in Internally Displaced Persons camps experienced sexual violence.
Significant correlations have been found between sexual violence victimization and unmet physical needs, such as housing and food insecurity.
[54][55] Some development and policy scholars have also described the fiscal and social-emotional costs of sexual violence, such as medical expenses and mental health issues.
[56][57][58] Several authors have argued that the relationship between poverty and perpetration of sexual violence is mediated through forms of crisis of masculine identity.
[59][60][61][62][63] For example, Philippe Bourgois wrote about how young men in East Harlem, New York felt pressured by models of successful masculinity and family structure passed down from their parents' and grandparents' generations, alongside modern-day ideals of manhood that emphasize material consumption.
In this context, gang rape and sexual conquest are normalized, as men turn their aggression against women they can no longer control patriarchally or support economically.
[81] Childhood environments that are physically violent, emotionally unsupportive and characterized by competition for scarce resources have been associated with sexual violence.
[42][82] Sexually aggressive behavior in young men, for instance, has been linked to witnessing family violence, and having emotionally distant and uncaring fathers.
While families will often try to protect female members from rape and may also put their daughters on contraception to prevent visible signs should it occur,[83] there is rarely much social pressure to control young men or persuade them that coercing sex is wrong.[where?]
Instead, in some countries, there is frequently support for family members to do whatever is necessary, including murder, to alleviate the shame associated with a rape or other sexual transgression.
In a review of all honor killings occurring in Jordan in 1995,[84] researchers found that in over 60% of the cases, the victim died from multiple gunshot wounds, mostly at the hands of a brother.
Within the paradigm, acts of sexism are commonly employed to validate and rationalize normative misogynistic practices; for instance, sexist jokes may be told to foster disrespect for women and an accompanying disregard for their well-being, which ultimately make their rape and abuse seem "acceptable".
[94] According to Check and Malamuth (1983), men are taught to take the initiative and persist in sexual encounters, while women are supposed to set the limits.
[95] This classical sexual script is often popularized through television shows, popular films and pornography, which depict the man making a sexual advance and the woman initially resisting, but then finally positively responding by falling in love with him or experiencing orgasm (Cowen, Lee, Levy, and Snyder, 1988; Malamuth and Check, 1981; Smith, 1976; Waggett, 1989).
[96] In many societies, men who do not act in a traditionally masculine way are ostracized by their peers and considered effeminate[97] In studies, young males from Cambodia, Mexico, Peru and South Africa reported that they have participated in incidents where girls were coerced into sex (such as gang rapes) and that they did so as a way to prove their masculinity to their friends, or under peer pressure and fear that they would be rejected if they did not participate in the assault.
The anti-pornography feminist, Andrea Dworkin, has famously argued this point in her controversial Pornography: Men Possessing Women (1981).