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From: holt@convex.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.women
Subject: Re: Only a few nuts rape?
Message-ID: <45000010@convex.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 1-Dec-84 11:03:00 EST
Article-I.D.: convex.45000010
Posted: Sat Dec  1 11:03:00 1984
Date-Received: Tue, 4-Dec-84 05:02:06 EST
References: <10011@watmath.UUCP>
Lines: 35
Nf-ID: #R:watmath:-1001100:convex:45000010:000:1642
Nf-From: convex!holt    Dec  1 10:03:00 1984

> I cam across an interesting figure the other day.  It was unfortunately
> not fully documented, so if anybody knows the exact source, I would very
> much appreciate more details.
> 
> The figure was in this month's Harper's Index, and was the following:
> Percentage of college men who say they might commit rape if there were
> no chance of being caught: 35
> 
> If this is not a sham, and the studies done were serious, this is a pretty
> scary figure.  It is a good disclaimer to the idea that has been expressed
> here quite often that rape is an act committed by a few crazy men, and not
> representative of men's attitudes towards women in general.
> 
> Sophie Quigley

This figure (if you believe it) agrees with my assertion that rape is
not necessarily motivated by desire to inflict violence upon women.  If as
Ken Perlow says, this 35% is composed primarily of "horny guys", then their
motivation is sexual.  They want to have sex.  They don't want to hurt another
human being.  There are many rapists motivated by a desire to do
violence against their victim.  But, if the definition of rape is:

	"sexual activity forced upon an unwilling partner"

then most of these potential rapists are motivated by sexual desire.  Let's 
hope that the males of the world can be educated to understand that women are
people, not sexual objects to be used against their will.  (35% IS scary!)
I think that this education will drastically reduce the incidence of rape.
As for what you do about people oriented toward violence, well, I have no
answers.  

				Dave Holt
				Convex Computer Corp.
				{allegra,ihnp4,uiucdcs,ctvax}!convex!holt