History of Sexual Violence

Sexual assault is not an isolated event that happens to a few individuals in a random, unpredictable way. Rather it is a logical, though completely intolerable, extension of a firmly entrenched misogynist worldview, either subscribed to or imposed upon millions of people over thousands of years. It is also important to look at how rape, an extreme form of sexism, functions to also reinforce other systems of oppression such as racism, classicism and heterosexism. Looking at sexual violence through a historical perspective can help us understand the impact of systematic oppression and the importance of social change. By breaking the silence about the long history of cultural genocide, rape, and the many abuses that occurred throughout history, survivors can draw from that history and break the silence about their abuse.

Women as Property

In all the ancient civilizations of the west (and in many others) women were the property of their fathers and later in life of their husbands. Marriage was often a monetary transaction, with the suitor or his family paying the "bride-price" to the father/owner. When women were property, the right of ownership passed from the father to the husband in marriage. The woman literally belonged to her husband; damage to his property was a direct offense against the husband. If an unmarried woman was raped, her bride-price was lower, for she was "damaged goods." Thus in some ancient societies, rapists paid the traditional bride-price or some variation of it to the father, whose economic interest was harmed by the rape. Under these societies, the woman had few personal rights; her feelings and experiences were discounted.

Racism and Rape

The practice of treating women as property to uphold the class status of white males became a part of the history of this country through slavery. An African-American woman's body belonged to her master. She had no legal protection and no right to refuse. Women were exchanged or bought in slavery, where their sexual services were part of their labor and where their children were also the property of their masters. Slave children were expected to work as soon as they were able to. Class for white men was determined by the steady production of slaves and those who owned more slaves could dominate those who didn't. The forced exploitation of African-American women by white men was totally acceptable and sanctioned as a means by which white men gained power and economic and social status.

White women became an important symbol of the supremacy of southern white aristocracy both during and after slavery. High standards were developed for her conduct and protection. Those high standards did not apply to her white male brothers and husbands, however. White men openly and systematically raped black women during slavery often doing so in order to breed black slave children to be sold for profit away from their mothers and families. These abuses continued long after slavery was ended -as the Reconstruction period attempted to reinstate slavery in all but name. Ku Klux Klansmen and other lynch mobs also systematically used the rape of black women as a tactic of spreading arbitrary terror in the newly freed black communities of the South, and as retribution against freed people attempting to assert their rights.

At the same time, the South became symbolically obsessed with the danger of black men toward white women. Black "rapists" were lynched on the slightest provocation both during slavery and during the Reconstruction era. Strong laws against intermarriage and rape were enacted to serve the needs of the ruling white strata of society. Criminal codes all over the South made rape a capital crime. Courts enforced these codes in blatantly discriminatory ways well into the 20th century, frequently assigning the death penalty to black men accused and convicted of raping white women, but rarely to assailants -white or black -who raped black women. When the Supreme Court determined that capital punishment for rape was inappropriate, the racist character of this history was important factor in the legal arguments. Myths about black men and black women from these eras of our history persist into the present.

Rape as a Tool of War

Rape is often seen as a side effect of war, a function of the chaos created by conflict, and an individual, personal tragedy. But, in most times and places, rape on a large scale has functioned as a weapon of war, or the prerogative of the victorious soldiers over a conquered people. Indeed, the city of Rome was founded and created with the rape of Sabine women. At other times in western history the massive use of rape occurred during war. In 1453, when Constantinople fell, the city's women and young girls were raped by Ottoman troops. During the Indian massacres by whites of this country, troops committed atrocities against Indian women. In 1864, at the Sand Creek massacre, Indian women were raped and sexually mutilated. In 1937, when Nanking fell to Japanese troops, the women of the city were raped. During the Viet Nam war, the rape of Vietnamese women by U.S. troops was common. Today, rape is a criminal act of war under the international war laws. Despite this, rape continues to be a weapon of war. Rape is also used in some areas of the world as a tool of demoralization, cultural genocide, and ethnic cleansing. The widespread rape of Sudanese women and girls in Darfur, the systematic rape of women in Bosnia, the rape of women and girls in Bangladesh in 1971 by Pakistani soldiers, and more recently the United Nations has documented the widespread institutionalization of abduction, sexual slavery and rape in Sierra Leone. The Rwandan genocide of 1994 featured the mass rape of women by the Hutu militia with the ultimate aim of wiping out the Tutsi minority. Rape has been recognized and implemented by its perpetrators as an effective means of breaking down a society and as a strategic means towards achieving military ends. While provisions in the Geneva Conventions and other United Nations treaties such as the Torture Convention and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights prohibit cruel, degrading and inhuman treatment, and while mass rape on an institutional scale could be considered a crime against humanity, the crime of rape in war as such often eludes legal retribution, and seldom gets the level of media coverage it deserves.

Rape Laws

Early on in colonial New England, rape was a capital offense. The mandatory death penalty was also prescribed for sexual intercourse with a child under ten. The court was reluctant to enforce the death penalty and rapists were rarely executed. Rape laws varied greatly from colony to colony. Settlement of damages in the form of monetary payments remained common and as we might expect from the previous centuries, such payments were awarded to the husband or father of the victim, rather than upon the victim herself.

Women's Resistance

In discussing the history of sexual violence, we must include information about women's resistance to it. All throughout history women have been fighting against the laws, structures, and so-called "norms" of society that constrained them based on sex or gender. In the U.S., it was from the formation of the women's movement that we began to emancipate ourselves from male domination, to reclaim our histories, and to name our suffering as oppression and to name rape as a crime against women and men. In the past 20 years, with the start of the women's movement we have made a lot of progress. We have seen the creation of rape crisis centers-places where women who have been terrorized and raped can seek support. We have organized protests, and speak-outs. We have lobbied for changes in the law to make them more appropriate to victim/survivors of sexual violence. We have demanded accountability from the courts, from the police and other systems. Despite all our efforts, however, rape is one of the most frequently committed crimes in this country and victims are routinely blamed for the assault. It is time to recognize the harmful and long lasting impact of these crimes and to work together in pursuit of a world free from sexual violence.

* excerpts from "History of Sexual Violence" by Donna Macnamara

Societal Causes of Sexual Violence

Sexual violence is rooted in sexism. It is from the foundation of sexism, or the belief in men's inherent superiority over women, that rape and other forms of violence against women is possible. According to sexism, this imbalance of power between women and men is "the way it's supposed to be"; and that men are entitled to the benefits of inequality. In order to maintain and enforce this dominate/subordinate position, violence must be present-if not as a threat, as an actuality. In many cases this violence becomes sexualized and dominance itself becomes sexualized. Whenever a culture intertwines power and sexuality, that culture is the breeding ground for sexual violence. Sexual violence occurs in a society not only because individual men choose to sexually assault women; but because men as a class are given sanction to demean women, and the demeaning itself is sexualized. These crimes occur in a context of male dominance and institutionalized sexism. This is the same for male victims. When men sexually abuse other men, it is often an attempt to "de-masculinize" the male "victim" and demonstrate the greater masculinity of the perpetrator. These elements of power, control, and domination are the reasons these crimes happen.

In addition to sexism, power, and control, sexual violence occurs due to many other contributing factors. We are all influenced by the society, culture, and environment in which we live. From a very young age we receive messages from parents, peers, school, media, church, and other outlets about what it means to be a man or a woman. Gender roles for men often include messages such as "boys don't cry," "be tough, be strong," "don't be a sissy," "be in control," "be a man." The gender roles for women are often centered on pleasing others, passivity, beauty or attractiveness, and finding self-worth in regards to gaining the attention of men. These rigid gender roles can be dangerous because they give a false and unrealistic definition of what it means to be a man or a woman, which in turn affects how we communicate with each other, sexually or otherwise. It is a dangerous combination to have a man feel like he always has to be in control and a woman to feel like she should be passive in her relationships. Another contributing factor to sexual violence is the sexual objectification of women by all forms of media, and societies view and promotion of violence as sexy and sex as violent. Once we as a society see a human being as a thing, just a body, or "less than", it becomes much easier to commit violence against them. Other elements of our culture that contribute to the continuation of sexual assault include sex role stereotypes, myths about sexual assault, a belief system which includes the concepts of male privilege or entitlement, and the belief that women are inferior. These stereotypes and myths help justify sexual assault by perpetrators and by society as a whole. Visit the "What Can I Do About This?" page to learn about ways to confront these societal causes of sexual violence.

Some examples of sex role stereotypes are as follows:

Male sex role stereotypes:

• Males are powerful, aggressive, dominant, and unable to control their sexual urges.
• No "real man" would turn down an opportunity to have sex.
• Males are ready for sex 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
• Males are supposed to push for sex; females are supposed to resist.

Female sex role stereotypes:

• Females are passive, submissive, and inferior.
• Females say no, but really mean yes.
• Females dress in a way to announce their sexuality and availability.
• Single females who have sex are promiscuous; single males who have sex are just being "a player"
• Females are responsible for setting the limits.

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