The Socio-Cultural Context Of Rape By Peggy Reeves Sanday

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When examining rape in cultures in the journal article The Socio-Cultural Context of Rape: A Cross-Cultural Study by Peggy Reeves Sanday collected data from previous studies and applied a coding system to distinguish societies based off the occurrence and types of rape committed by men against women. She labelled societies as ‘rape prone’ and ‘rape free’. She found that in ‘rape prone’ societies ‘included cases in which men rape enemy women, rape is a ceremonial act, and rape may be more a threat used by men to control women in certain ways than an actuality’ (Sanday 7). ‘Rape free’ societies are ones that ‘the act of rape is either infrequent or does not occur’ (Sanday 15). ‘Rape prone’ cultures were characterized as extremely patriarchal …show more content…
When men and women aren’t seen as equal, it is easy to violate women because they don’t hold the same amount of ‘human’. Women are seen less and can be treated as such. However, when women and men are equal violence towards women is regarded that same as violence against anyone else. The respect for both sexes and also fear of punishment keeps men from sexually assaulting women.
In America, the ‘National Institute of Justice … estimated that between one-fifth to one-fourth of women are victims of attempted or completed sexual assault while in college’ (Armstrong, Hamilton, Sweeney 480). Sexual Assault on Campus: A Multilevel, Integrative Approach to Party Rape by Elizabeth A. Armstrong, Laura Hamilton, and Brian Sweeney explores the party culture of a large university with a prominent Greek life and how the party scene affects the sexual assault that happens at parties. The university is known for its large party scene. At such a large school that doesn’t provide much time within the classroom for socializing or peer to peer experiences, the best way to meet people is at parties. The

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