RAPE IN HUMAN SOCIETIES: CATEGORIES, CONSEQUENCES AND REMEDIES

Abstract

Rape in human societies today can be described as pandemic in the sense that it has affected many countries globally. Terms such as sexual assault or sexual violence are also used to describe it. Although sexual violence affect men and women, our concern in this study is to deal with sexual violence directed against women and girls. Apart from sexual gratification, sexual violence against women and girls comes as a result of unequal power equation between men and women and is equally influenced by cultural factors and values. Sexual violence in human societies has a profound impact on physical and mental health as well as causing physical injury. This sometimes is associated with increased risk of a range of sexual and reproductive health problems and complications, with both immediate and long-term consequences. Its impact on mental health can also be as serious as its physical impact, and may be equally long lasting. Sexual assault can also profoundly affect the social wellbeing of victims; individuals may be stigmatized and ostracized by their families and others as a consequence. In war situations rape of women and girls is often used as a weapon of war, as form of attack on the enemy, typifying the conquest and degradation of its women or captured male fighters. While sexual violence can be directed against both men and women, the main focus of this study will be to examine rape/sexual violence against women and girls in human societies, the various categories of rape, consequences and the remedies to the problem.