On the Prevalence of Rape in the United States

Abstract

Most who study the status of American women are aware of the prominent role sexual violence plays in the oppression of women-of the devastating effects it has on individual women who are victimized by it as well as the broader ways in which it intimidates all women. Women are encouraged to feel guilty for their own victimization, authorities are reluctant to believe women who report being raped, and, even if a woman is believed, she is compelled to endure humiliating experiences that at worst constitute additional violations of her self. Not only do the culture and social structures of patriarchy generate violence against women; they also interfere with efforts to see that violence clearly for what it is.'