The Like/Hate Thread

[Ashe]

I don't understand why people get so enraged when the subject of rape comes up. It's like, when people rank the worst possible things a human can do, they'll usually say murder first, and then rape. Again, I'm not trying to trivialize rape but when you really look into it, is forcing somebody to have sex with you so terrible that it deserves to be put next to murder, in terms of the severity of the crime? I know that in a lot of cases it's not just forced sex, the assailant will physically assault the victim aswell. But even then it doesn't justify life in prison. Atleast not in my opinion.

The problem likely rises from the fact that the definition of rape is assumed to be "having sex without consent". The thing is, for the victim, there is more to it than that. It goes beyond just sex with someone you wouldn't normally have sex with into something more along the lines of grand theft. You are taking something from the person in multiple ways. You are taking their right to consent from them. You are taking their ability to control what someone does and doesn't do to them. So beyond the physical aspect, there is a great deal of emotional trauma that happens.

The victims begin to question if they somehow deserved it, as a form of punishment. Their entire life becomes such where they frequently fear of it happening again, or that they are somehow provoking it, or that they are helpless to prevent it. They begin to just give in and let people do whatever they want to them so they become victims even more. In other cases, they tend to bottle up in the exact opposite situation, putting so much effort into pushing anything consistent with normal life away due to being uncomfortable with practically any situation.

So while the person is physically alive, they are pretty much no longer "living their life" in the same manner as someone who is in a coma. Many times they actually wish they WERE killed after it. So they've been denied their right to live due to the emotional trauma.

This is why it is directly beside murder, as well as torture (cruel and unusual punishment, etc), when it comes to judgment. It accomplishes the same essential results regardless of the intentions ("I just wanted to know what getting with her was like! I love her!"), though severity can be argued given that murder ends the pain at death while other options continue long after.