[30][31] The 1998 International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda defines rape as "a physical invasion of a sexual nature committed on a person under circumstances which are coercive".
For instance, in the Philippines, a man commits rape if he engages in sexual intercourse with a woman "By means of fraudulent machination or grave abuse of authority".
[50] The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in its landmark 1998 judgment used a definition of rape that did not use the word 'consent': "a physical invasion of a sexual nature committed on a person under circumstances which are coercive.
[66][67] Gang rape is often perceived by male perpetrators as a justified method of discouraging or punishing what they consider as immoral behavior among women – for example, wearing short skirts or visiting bars.
Women may not identify their victimization as rape for many reasons such as feelings of shame, embarrassment, non-uniform legal definitions, reluctance to define the friend/partner as a rapist, or because they have internalized victim-blaming attitudes.
Immediately following a rape, the survivor may react outwardly in a wide range of ways, from expressive to closed down; common emotions include distress, anxiety, shame, revulsion, helplessness, and guilt.
[81] Most people recover from rape in three to four months, but many have persistent PTSD that may manifest in anxiety, depression, substance abuse, irritability, anger, flashbacks, or nightmares.
[95][96][97][98] The claim that the myth drives either HIV infection or child sexual abuse in South Africa is disputed by researchers Rachel Jewkes and Helen Epstein.
Finally, rape victims are blamed more when they are raped by an acquaintance or a date rather than by a stranger (e.g., Bell, Kuriloff, & Lottes, 1994; Bridges, 1991; Bridges & McGr ail, 1989; Check & Malamuth, 1983; Kanekar, Shaherwalla, Franco, Kunju, & Pinto, 1991; L'Armand & Pepitone, 1982; Tetreault & Barnett, 1987), which seems to evoke the stereotype that victims really want to have sex because they know their attacker and perhaps even went out on a date with him.
Medical personnel involved are trained to assess and treat those assaulted or follow protocols established to ensure privacy and best treatment practices.
[117] After the general assessment and treatment of serious injuries, further evaluation may include the use of additional diagnostic testing such as x-rays, CT or MRI image studies and blood work.
Before the complete bodily and genital exam, the patient is asked to undress, standing on a white sheet that collects any debris that may be in the clothing.
Samples of fluids are collected to determine the presence of the perpetrator's saliva and semen that may be present in the patient's mouth, vagina or rectum.
Examiners paying attention to victims with darker skin, especially the thighs, labia majora, posterior fourchette, and fossa navicularis, can help remedy this.
[116] Testing at the time of the initial exam does not typically have forensic value if patients are sexually active and have an STI since it could have been acquired before the assault.
[115] Positive outcomes of emotional and psychiatric treatment for rape exist; these can be an improved self-concept, the recognition of growth, and implementing new coping styles.
Statistics reported by the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) indicate that 7 out of 10 cases of sexual assault involved a perpetrator known to the victim.
[152] Victims who do not act in an expected or stereotypical way may not be believed, as happened in the case of a Washington state woman raped in 2008 who withdrew her report after facing police skepticism.
The researchers noted that many of these classifications were based on the personal judgments and biases of the police investigators and were made in violation of official criteria for establishing a false allegation.
A nine-year study by Eugene J. Kanin of Purdue University in a small metropolitan area in the Midwestern United States claimed that 41% of rape accusations were false.
Although what constituted this crime has varied by historical period and culture, the definitions tended to focus around an act of forced vaginal intercourse perpetrated through physical violence or imminent threat of death or severe bodily injury, by a man, on a woman, or a girl, not his wife.
[178][179] The way sexuality was conceptualized in many societies rejected the very notion that a woman could force a man into sex—women were often seen as passive while men were deemed to be assertive and aggressive.
[181][184] Author Winnie Tomm stated, "By contrast, rape of a single woman without strong ties to a father or husband caused no great concern.
Iniuria was a civil charge that demanded monetary compensation, and had a wider application (for example, it could have been brought in case of sexual assault on a slave by a person other than their owner.)
From 1935 to 1965, a shift from labeling rapists as criminals to believing them to be mentally ill "sexual psychopaths" began making its way into popular opinion.
Many countries criminalized "non-traditional" forms of sexual activity well into the modern era: notably, in the US state of Idaho, sodomy between consensual partners was punishable by a term of five years to life in prison as late as 2003, and this law was only ruled to be inapplicable to married couples in 1995.
[196] As early as the 19th century, American women were criticized if they "stray[ed] out of a [dependent] position...fought off [an] attacker...[or] behaved in too self reliant a manner..." in which case "the term rape no longer applied".
[215][216] The Wehrmacht also established a system of military brothels, in which young women and girls from occupied territories were forced into prostitution under harsh conditions.
[219] According to researcher and author Krisztián Ungváry, some 38,000 civilians were killed during the Siege of Budapest: about 13,000 from military action and 25,000 from starvation, disease and other causes.
When the Soviets finally claimed victory, they initiated an orgy of violence, including the wholesale theft of anything they could lay their hands on, random executions and mass rape.