Rape by sex

This article classifies types rape by sex for both the rapist and his or her victim. While gender preferences do play a role in rape, the types of rape listed here are primarily classified by sex rather than by gender.

Rape of females by males
One common false assumption about the rape of females is that a woman who lubricates, experiences arousal or even orgasms is consenting to her rape. A woman's physiological responses to sexual contact are involuntary and in no way imply consent. A woman can become aroused, lubricate, and even orgasm against her will during a rape. Furthermore, even if orgasm during rape is intensely physically pleasurable for the victim, it can lead to great stress afterwards if the victim comes to associate physical pleasure with the trauma of rape. While conscious thoughts and choices can result in sexual agreement, it is not constant, and neither is any intellectual agreement with sexual responses. Thus, while some might change their minds and 'forgive' a rape, it is an unethical and legally risky action.

Feminists generally prefer to describe male rape of females in terms of power rather than sexuality, much like male-male rape is dissociated from homosexuality (a stronger person asserting power over a weaker person).

Rape of females by females
Female-female rape is just beginning to be researched by psychologists. What constitutes female-female rape is defined on a state by state basis in the United States (see Law above). Female-female rape can occur against women of any sexuality; in incestuous rapes by responsible female elders (such as mothers), against bisexual women or lesbians alone or by their lesbian lovers. As in male-male rape, the victim of female-female rape is not necessarily homosexual simply because she is the target of assault by a woman.

As in male-male prison rape, a number of authors have noted that women rape other women in prison.

Lesbian sexual assault is often a peripheralized subject in today's society. Lori Girshick explores the taboo subject in her book Woman-to-Woman Sexual Violence: Does she call it rape. The Network/La Red is a non-profit organization dedicated to the issue of lesbian domestic violence.

Another taboo, heretofore concealed and especially terrible type of female-female rape is the rape of daughters by mothers or other female caregivers (see parental incest). Bobbie Rosencrans, a survivor of mother-daughter incest and co-author of The Last Secret: Daughters Sexually Abused by Mothers (1997), a systematic study of 93 women and 9 men sexually abused by their mothers was flooded with responses from female subjects when she began her study. Other researchers in the counseling field have noted similar responses from victims though along with persistent attempts to stifle, or to hold back research into mother-daughter incest and sexual abuse.

It is estimated in the United States that 3-10% of all serious sexual offenses are female-female in nature. Researchers in the counseling professions believe that female-on-female sexual offenses are significantly under-reported. There is also evidence to suggest that sexual offenses committed by females against females are actively concealed and/or denied by both the offenders themselves and the wider population. However, due to the lack of substantial evidence provided in these cases, female on female rape is often misconstrued as actual rape when in fact it is only statutory assault in many states. These states include California, New York, Florida and South Dakota.


 * There is an effort to move the (already deleted) bulk of this section to Male Rape Research.

Rape of males by males
Male on male rape is common in incestuous rape, and other situations, (such as prison or other similar settings) where men and boys are dependent on elder males and/or are unable to escape stronger males. Since the United States Uniform Crime Report statistics are considered unreliable (see discussion(s) above) regarding rape in general, regarding the sex of the victims (in some states rape of males is considered impossible by the law), and regarding the sex of the victimizer, no reliable statistics on male-male rape can be taken from these crime statistics, despite their official nature.

What can be estimated from the Uniform Crime Report rape statistics is that rape of males, by both sexes, represents a minimum of about 10% of all rapes. However, since there is no known uniform sex-neutral data on all forms of rape it is impossible to distinguish how many males were raped by males versus those males raped by females.

When a male is raped (by a male or female) the involuntary physiological response of erection or orgasm cannot be taken to imply that the act was welcomed by the victim. A capable assailant, male or female, can induce these involuntary physical responses in the majority of males with force and/or with deception.

Male-on-male rape does not imply homosexuality in the case of either party. Even if the victim shows signs of sexual stimulation during the experience, this has nothing to do with his established sex preference, any more than a female victim can be said to subconsciously enjoy her position if she orgasms. It only indicates a positive response to touching of sexual areas, much as can happen with non-autosexual masturbation performed without imagination or visual assistance. A response to touching is unconscious, and not necessarily reflective of one's mental, emotional, or visual attractions, which many people hold strong attachments to, the violations of which are traumatizing.

Statutory female on male rape
Women also can commit an act of rape with force or deception to make a man (or adolescent) engage in a non-consensual penetrative sexual act. According to Court TV's Crime Library, women commit about 10% of all sexual offenses and their abuse often involves their own child or children, which is incest. Several widely publicized cases of female-male statutory rape in the United States involved school teachers raping their teenage male students under their consent. A recent example of this is that of Debra Lafave of Greco Middle School and her teenaged student.

Non statutory female on male rape
Non statutory female on male rape is widely, but incorrectly, considered impossible because male erectile response is seen as voluntary, when, in fact, it is involuntary. Therefore, male victims of rape by females often face social, political, and legal double-standards. Female rapists are usually seen as less culpable than male rapists by the courts due to these misunderstandings. In addition, male victims of female rape often endure a double-bind because men are considered to always want sex with any woman which means that female-on-male rape can be seen, by others, as consensual when in fact the female sexual predator uses coercion to commit the crime. In addition, since rape by females is much less well known than male-female rape, male victims of female rapists often find little support from rape crisis centers. Finally, since the incidence of female-on-male rape is on record at much higher rates (around 31% compared to 10%) in Canada, it is likely being substantially under-reported in the United States.

In many countries, male rape is legally classified under a different law or name. However, the nature of the incident and its consequences, are similar. It is said that male rape is taken less seriously as a result of the stereotypical views held about males in many societies, including modern Western society. Men's rights lobbyists are pushing for tougher male rape laws and have gained some success, but many still feel that more work is needed to be done.

A woman who rapes a man still retains the right to decide whether to have an abortion and can legally sue the man for child support if she has the baby in many jurisdictions. This has been affirmed by the courts. Examples of such cases are: Mercer County Dep't of Social Services v. Alf M., 155 Misc. 2d 703, 589 N.Y.S.2d 288 (Fam. Ct. 1992); Weinberg v. Omar E., 106 A.D.2d 448, 448, 482 N.Y.S.2d 540, 541 (1984); S. F. v. State ex rel. T. M., 2950025, Court of Civil Appeals of Alabama, 695 So. 2d 1186 (1996). The general reasoning of the courts in this regard that the obligation of the court is to the child and that, regardless of the circumstances of parenting, a father has the obligation to support a child. The courts have held that a man's recourse against the woman is solely in the criminal courts, not the civil courts responsible for child support matters. Nonetheless, the criminal courts impose a higher standard of proof than the civil courts (beyond a reasonable doubt vs. preponderance of the evidence) and paternity is generally easy to prove through DNA testing, whereas rape is much harder to prove. It is therefore quite possible for a female rapist to successfully sue her victim for child support without being at serious risk of conviction for rape. Even if criminal prosecution is possible, it may not relieve the man of the obligation to pay child support depending on the jurisdiction.

Due to the legal terminology oriented around penetrative intercourse being involved with rape, a woman can also impregnate herself with a man's sperm without penetrative sex, whereas a woman can only be impregnated against her will through penetration. This makes it possible to not only force a man to parent a child and support them, but not even be prosecuted for rape for doing so. This is due to the preference for female choice in issues regarding choosing to conceive and give birth to a child, as well as issues regarding abortion.