A mini essay regarding sexuality, and sexualized violence and sexual

A mini regarding sexuality, and sexualized violence and sexual assault - Essay Example In addition, about 99 percent of the convicted rapists are males (RAINN, 2010). Prevalence of rape in different countries varies, where some report higher rates than others do. Sweden for instance has one of the highest reported incidents of rape in developed countries and in the globe. Various factors account to this disparity in incidents of rape. These include inconsistencies in definition of rape, underreporting and ignorance (Meyer, 2006). Different societies define rape in various contexts causing disparities in reported incidents. In some societies, it is acceptable for a man to have sex with a woman irrespective of her consent. In such situations, the channels for reporting such cases are virtually non-existent and victims are left with no option of seeking legal redress. Moreover, the society focuses more on male – female rape, overlooking other types such as male-male, female- male , and female –female sexual abuse (Malamuth, 1986). In societies with low literacy levels, many crimes including rape go unreported because of strong cultural or traditional values that prevent victims from reporting due to fear. Hence, in conservative, third world and developing nations the incidents of rape could be higher than reported data because of ignorance , underreporting and other factors. Similarly, developed countries report high incidents of rape because victims are more informed about their rights and there are competent and broad legal definitions of the crime. Sexual violence is caused by various factors as explained by many theories to explain the phenomena. Meyer(2006) classified these into two categories, namely offender based factors and societal influence Offender based factors include biological make up of an individual such as high levels of hormones that increases aggression, including testosterone and serotonin, abusing drugs such as alcohol, in addition to sex and power motives. Societal influence includes