Published Paper Details:

Rape is simply the ultimate weapon, which men use to exercise power over women. Rape is an expression of the need to illustrate that power of supremacy, which men enjoy over women and the exercise of that power is condoned and encouraged by existing social attitude and practices. Rape is the manifestation of institutional coercion that flows from the structure of economic, social and political relations between men and women in general- a type of structure that discourages women for asserting themselves physically, emotionally, socially and financially. Race, class, caste, minority, religion, culture are few of the factors that affect the causation and experience of rape. Rape triggers off different types of reactions to the victim and to the society. The reactions of the victim are not same because of the varying degrees of physical and mental suffering endured by them. In view of the grave social consequences which may follow after the occurrence of rape, it is not surprising that majority of the rape victims prefer not to report the crime at all. Rape is the most under reported of all violent crimes. Victims and their family members, who consider reporting the rape, are often discouraged from doing do, due to the law enforcement officials and the sensational and undesirable publicity that is given to such crimes. To avoid humiliation and harassment at the hands of law enforcement officials and denigration in the society, victims generally refrain from reporting the crime. This deliberate silence regarding the reporting of rape cases reinforces the view that some forms of human behaviors are inevitable, which should not be made public and as we are powerless to prevent them, we must insulate ourselves from them. This view propagates rape as an inevitable accomplishment of human society, a natural fact that we must learn to live with.