Sexual Assault, Harassment, & Partner Violence Notes PDF

Chapter 16: Sexual assault, harassment, partner violence - Sexual assualt= broad term covering any violent or nonconsensual act involving physical contact of a sexual nature (criminally reserved for non-rape acts) - rape= penetration of the vagina or anus by the penis or any other body...

Chapter 16: Sexual assault, harassment, partner violence - Sexual assualt= broad term covering any violent or nonconsensual act involving physical contact of a sexual nature (criminally reserved for non-rape acts) - rape= penetration of the vagina or anus by the penis or any other body part or object or penetration of the mouth by the penis, when performed by force or the threat of force - majority of rape convictions are for rapes of women by men - made-to-penetrate (MTP)= when men are forced to engage in penetrative acts - Statutory rape= coitus, anal penetration, or oral penetration performed without force but also without the partner’s consent; it is usually applied to cases in which the partner cannot legally give consent on account of young age or mental incapacity - Date rape= rape that occurs in the context of a social or romantic interaction between two people, includes situations in which some form of sexual interaction is already under way, whereupon one person continues to sexual penetration against the will of the other person - Young women are most often the victims - Majority of sexual assaults are by known perps - Most rapes go unreported - Male students who join fraternities are three times more likely to commit sexual assaults than those who do not - Male college athletes—football players especially—are far more likely to commit sexual assaults than non-athlete men, - Colleges risk being sued if the college’s action or inaction facilitated a sexual assault - Number one date rape drug is alcohol - incapacitated rapes= Rape in which the victim was unable to resist on account of intoxication by alcohol or drugs. - Rape kits= Samples collected from a rape victim’s body or clothing for the purpose of identifying the perpetrator. - PTSD= A cluster of persistent physical and psychological symptoms seen in victims of catastrophic events, such as sexual assault or other violence - In the first 2 weeks after the assault, 94% of women have symptoms of PTSD, and 46% still exhibit symptoms at 3 months after the event - prolonged exposure therapy= A form of psychotherapy for victims of rape or abuse in which they are encouraged to recall the traumatic event repeatedly in a safe environment. - If a man develops an erection while he is being sexually assaulted, that fact does not mean that he wants to have sex, but it may cause him to feel an irrational guilt about the event - marital exemption= that it was not rape for a man to force sex on his wife (overturned in 1993) - Rpae shield laws= Laws that protect rape victims—for example, by limiting the introduction of evidence about their prior sexual behavior, defendant can no longer escape from legal penalty by painting the victim as a “slut.” - About half of all men arrested for rape are convicted (usually of felony rape)—most after a guilty plea. - About 5% of rape reports are found to be false - motives for false rape allegations include revenge, regret at having consented to sex, desire for sympathy or attention, need for an alibi (e.g., for an illicit affair that has been discovered), material gain (e.g., to dispose of a rival for a promotion), and mental illness - 8% of convicted and then released offenders reoffend within 9 yrs of their release - Rapists typically: - Have worse relationships with their parents - Less capacity for empathy - Athletes, frat men - 1 in 5 women and 1 in 12 men in the United States have experienced some kind of contact violence at the hands of an intimate partner or ex-partner over their lifetime - Learned helplessness= a type of ptsd, Depression associated with failure to escape intimate partner violence. - When kids are present - very often witness the violence directly - at risk of being assaulted themselves - profoundly affect the children’s social development - Increases likelihood they will commit intimate partner violence, abuse children, or other behvaior problems in future - Partner violence cycle - Tension-building - increasingly moody, nitpicky, or sullen - threaten the victim - commit minor assaults or property damage - The victim may attempt to stop the progression of the cycle by trying to calm him - Violent phase - constitutes the shortest phase, - often occurs during a bout of binge drinking - victim tries to protect herself (and her children if she has them), fights back, kicks the abuser out, or flees - Reconciliation phase - perpetrator is apologetic and tries to make amends by declarations of love  - promises to cease the abusive behavior, to stop drinking, or to seek treatment - He showers the victim with gifts and attention. - victim is relieved and happy, forgives the abuser, and returns to him - Victims of intimate partner violence may stay with their partners because they are socially isolated, are economically dependent, lack self-esteem, or believe that separation and divorce are wrong - They may believe, incorrectly, that the battering is caused by some fault in themselves, perhaps because the perpetrator is leading them to believe so (gaslighting) - Sexual harassment= Unwanted sexual advances or other intimidating sexual behavior, usually in the workplace (most by men onto women) - quid pro quo - (literally “what for what?) - Unwelcome sexual advances - usually made to a worker in a subordinate position, accompanied by promises or threats - Usually to subordinate - Hostile environment - pattern of unwelcome attention, advances, or statements that make life difficult for the victim - behavior must relate to the victim’s sex or gender, but it need not be sexual in nature (ex: general comments about how awful women are) - Third-party - behavior must relate to the victim’s sex or gender, but it need not be sexual in nature - Ex: the employee who doesn't get the promotion bc the one who slept with the boss did - stalking= Obsessive pursuit of a previous, current, or desired sex partner in a way that puts that person in a state of fear. - cyberstalking= via the internet - Intimate partner stalking=the victim is stalked by a current or former spouse, cohabitational partner, boyfriend, girlfriend, or date, usually caused by anger - Obsessive relational intrusion= Obsessive pursuit of a person by a rejected lover. - Delusional stalking= the stalker has the fixed belief that the victim is in love with them or could easily be made to fall in love with them, even though there has never been an intimate relationship between the two - Grudge stalking= the stalker pursues the victim to seek revenge for some actual or imagined injury, not usually sexual