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In 2007, the U.S. Department of State reported 31,833 rapes in China, but no similar report by the Chinese government has been made available. [1] Same-sex sexual assault between male adults was made illegal in late 2015. [2] Domestic and foreign victims of sex trafficking in China are raped. [3]
During the Qing dynasty (1644–1912), rape was very difficult to prove. A woman who was sexually attacked had to prove that she had offered the utmost resistance and fought vigorously throughout the entire ordeal. Failure to do so would expose the woman herself to criminal prosecution for being complicit in "consensual illicit intercourse". [4]
There have been reports of systematic rape and sexual abuse of ethnic Uyghur women by Chinese authorities in Xinjiang internment camps as part of the Chinese government's persecution of Uyghurs. [5] [6]
Rape in China is not widely discussed in the media. Luo Tsun-yin, a social psychologist at Shih Hsin University in Taiwan, asserts that fewer than one in 10 rape cases in China are reported. [1] [7]
The 2013 Multi-country Study on Men and Domestic Violence asked men in China if they had ever coerced a female partner into having sex (including alcohol facilitated rape). 22.2% said yes. 9.3% had done so in the past year. 19.4% raped their partner. 55% of the men who had raped had done so more than once and 9% had have so on four or more partners. 86% cited sexual entitlement as their motive (the highest percentage in the study) and 57% answered that they raped out of boredom. 72.4% experienced no legal consequences. 1.7% had raped another man. 25.1% who had raped reported first doing so as a teenager. 2.2% admitted to having committed gang rape. [8] A report conducted by the All-China Women’s Federation estimated that close to ten percent of Chinese women who are involved in a relationship or are married experience physical or sexual violence. [9]
Recent research has found that there is no existing psychometric measure assessing attitudes toward rape in China. For example, researchers found that men endorse the view that revealing clothing conveys consent for sex. [10]
Victims of rape in China often remain silent and do not report the crime because traditional culture holds that being raped is shameful and should be kept private. [11] Popular activist Guo Jianmei told the story of a villager who raped over 100 women, and asserted that "not one of them spoke up." In another incident, a girl and her mother tried to register a complaint against a rapist, but Zhong Xiancong, a police official, did not register it and suggested to the victim, "To protect your reputation, you should forget about the whole thing." [12]
Rape is regarded as taboo in Chinese culture, and the victim is often rejected by society, as the culture views women as solely responsible for the rape. One American victim of rape in China stated that she felt she would have been prosecuted by the state if she had tried to speak out against the rape. [7]
The laws against rape in China have been criticized by some, including Guo Jianmei, who noted that weaknesses in the legal system make it possible for certain rapists to escape justice; [12] furthermore, legal loopholes previously allowed child rapists to escape with light sentences. [13]
In 2011, a man who raped another man was convicted of "intentional injury" rather than rape, as non-consensual same-sex sexual conduct was not defined as a sexual offense. [14] [15]
In November 2015, ChinaDaily reported another same-sex case which happened in Luzhou city, Sichuan province. In this case, a man robbed and raped another man, but did not face sanction for the crime of sexual assault. [16]
In November 2015, Xinhua reported that the criminal code was amended to include the sexual assault and rape of men, citing the above case. In addition, sex with underaged (defined as under 14 years of age) prostitutes was reclassified as rape. [17] [18]
In recent years some additional legislation has been passed. The Draft Law was the first to define domestic violence in China, and its benefits include outlining how to obtain restraining orders, and providing guidelines to officials such as judges and police officers with how to handle cases of domestic violence in congruity with the law. However, there are weaknesses in this law as it only covers family members, and excludes protection for unmarried, divorced, dating, and LGBTQ partners. It also doesn’t attempt to combat economic abuse which is all too easily perpetrated illegally under China’s marriage law. The Draft Law falls significantly short of international standards, including those of surrounding Asian countries. [9]
The majority of the Asian region has progressed towards a “second generation of lawmaking,” adopting a more comprehensive definition of violence consistent with the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women (DEVAW) definition. China’s current laws are significantly more restricted, seemingly with policies predating the Beijing Declaration. [9]
Acquaintance rape is rape that is perpetrated by a person who knows the victim. Examples of acquaintances include someone the victim is dating, a classmate, co-worker, employer, family member, spouse, counselor, therapist, religious official, or medical doctor. Acquaintance rape includes a subcategory of incidents labeled date rape that involves people who are in romantic or sexual relationships with each other. When a rape is perpetrated by a college student on another student, the term campus rape is sometimes used.
Some victims of rape or other sexual violence incidents are male. It is estimated that approximately one in six men experienced sexual abuse during childhood. Historically, rape was thought to be, and defined as, a crime committed solely against females. This belief is still held in some parts of the world, but rape of males is now commonly criminalized and has been subject to more discussion than in the past.
Sexual violence is any harmful or unwanted sexual act or attempt to obtain a sexual act by violence or coercion, act to traffic a person, regardless of the relationship to the victim. This includes forced engagement in sexual acts, attempted or completed acts and occurs without the consent of the victim. It occurs in times of peace and armed conflict situations, is widespread, and is considered to be one of the most traumatic, pervasive, and most common human rights violations.
In scholarly literature and criminology, gang rape, also called serial gang rape, party rape, group rape, or multiple perpetrator rape, is the rape of a single victim by two or more violators. Gang rapes are forged on shared identity, religion, ethnic group, or race. There are multiple motives for serial gang rapes, such as for sexual entitlement, asserting sexual prowess, war, punishment, and, in up to 30% of cases, for targeting racial minorities, religious minorities, or ethnic groups.
Violence against women (VAW), also known as gender-based violence and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), are violent acts primarily or exclusively committed by men or boys against women or girls. Such violence is often considered a form of hate crime, committed against women or girls specifically because they are female, and can take many forms.
Rape is a type of sexual assault initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, under threat or manipulation, by impersonation, or with a person who is incapable of giving valid consent.
Rape can be categorized in different ways: for example, by reference to the situation in which it occurs, by the identity or characteristics of the victim, and by the identity or characteristics of the perpetrator. These categories are referred to as types of rape. The types described below are not mutually exclusive: a given rape can fit into multiple categories, by for example being both a prison rape and a gang rape, or both a custodial rape and the rape of a child.
Rape by gender classifies types of rape by the sex and gender of both the rapist and the victim. This scope includes both rape and sexual assault more generally. Most research indicates that rape affects women disproportionately, with the majority of people convicted being men; however, since the broadening of the definition of rape in 2012 by the FBI, more attention is being given to male rape, including females raping males.
Statistics on rape and other sexual assaults are commonly available in industrialized countries, and have become better documented throughout the world. Inconsistent definitions of rape, different rates of reporting, recording, prosecution and conviction for rape can create controversial statistical disparities, and lead to accusations that many rape statistics are unreliable or misleading.
Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person who is incapable of giving valid consent, such as one who is unconscious, incapacitated, has an intellectual disability, or is below the legal age of consent. The term rape is sometimes used interchangeably with the term sexual assault.
Rape in the Philippines is considered a criminal offense. In Philippine jurisprudence, it is a heinous crime punishable by reclusión perpetua when committed against women. Rape of males is also legally recognized as rape by sexual assault, which is penalized by imprisonment of six to twelve years.
Sexual violence refers to a range of completed or attempted sexual acts in which the affected party does not or is unable to consent. Theories on the causes of sexual violence are numerous and have come out of many different disciplines, such as women's studies, public health, and criminal justice. Proposed causes include military conquest, socioeconomics, anger, power, sadism, traits, ethical standards, laws, and evolutionary pressures. Most of the research on the causes of sexual violence has focused on male offenders.
The anti-rape movement is a sociopolitical movement which is part of the movement seeking to combat violence against and the abuse of women.
Punishment for rape in Pakistan under the Pakistani laws is either death penalty or imprisonment of between ten and twenty-five years. For cases related to gang rape, the punishment is either death penalty or life imprisonment. DNA test and other scientific evidence are used in prosecuting rape cases in Pakistan.
Rape is the fourth most common crime against women in India. According to the 2021 annual report of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), 31,677 rape cases were registered across the country, or an average of 86 cases daily, a rise from 2020 with 28,046 cases, while in 2019, 32,033 cases were registered. Of the total 31,677 rape cases, 28,147 of the rapes were committed by persons known to the victim. The share of victims who were minors or below 18 – the legal age of consent – stood at 10%.
Crime is present in various forms in the Philippines, and remains a serious issue throughout the country. Illegal drug trade, human trafficking, arms trafficking, murder, corruption and domestic violence remain significant concerns.
Rape is a major issue in Afghanistan. A number of human rights organizations have criticized the country's rape laws and their enforcement.
Rape myths are prejudicial, stereotyped, and false beliefs about sexual assaults, rapists, and rape victims. They often serve to excuse sexual aggression, create hostility toward victims, and bias criminal prosecution.
A marry-your-rapist law, marry-the-rapist law, or rape-marriage law is a rule of rape law in a jurisdiction under which a man who commits rape, sexual assault, statutory rape, abduction or other similar act is exonerated if he marries his female victim, or in some jurisdictions at least offers to marry her. The "marry-your-rapist" law is a legal way for the accused to avoid prosecution or punishment.
Cybersex trafficking, live streaming sexual abuse, webcam sex tourism/abuse or ICTs -facilitated sexual exploitation is a cybercrime involving sex trafficking and the live streaming of coerced sexual acts and/or rape on webcam.
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