Date Rape Among our Youth, is online porn creating a new phenomena?

What Is Date Rape?

When people think of rape, they might think of a stranger jumping out of a shadowy place and sexually attacking someone. But it’s not only strangers who rape. In fact, about half of all people who are raped know the person who attacked them. Girls and women are most often raped, but guys also can be raped, many think because sites like HD sex is only a couple of clicks away it influences their outside behavior, many would argue this point, as well as many would argue that simply watching pornography doesn’t make someone sadist enough to physically hurt someone and torment them, the gap between those two is a very, very big one.

Most friendships, acquaintances, and dates never lead to violence, of course. But, sadly, sometimes it happens. When forced sex occurs between two people who already know each other, it is known as date rape or acquaintance rape.

Even if the two people know each other well, and even if they were intimate or had sex before, no one has the right to force a sexual act on another person against his or her will.

Although it involves forced sex, rape is not about sex or passion. Rape has nothing to do with love. Rape is an act of aggression and violence.

You may hear some people say that those who have been raped were somehow “asking for it” because of the clothes they wore or the way they acted. That’s wrong: The person who is raped is not to blame. Rape is always the fault of the rapist. And that’s also the case when two people are dating — or even in an intimate relationship. One person never owes the other person sex. If sex is forced against someone’s will, that’s rape.

Healthy relationships involve respect, — including respect for the feelings of others. Someone who really cares about you will respect your wishes and not force or pressure you to have sex.

 

Alcohol and Drugs

Alcohol is often involved in date rapes. Drinking can loosen inhibitions, dull common sense, and — for some people — allow aggressive tendencies to surface.

Drugs may also play a role. You may have heard about “date rape” drugs like rohypnol (“roofies”), gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB), and ketamine. Drugs like these can easily be mixed in drinks to make a person black out and forget things that happen. Both girls and guys who have been given these drugs report feeling paralyzed, having blurred vision, and lack of memory.

Mixing these drugs with alcohol is highly dangerous and can kill.

 

Pornography

Research concerning the effects of pornography is concerned with multiple outcomes. Such research includes potential influences on rape, domestic violence, sexual dysfunction, difficulties with sexual relationships, and child sexual abuse. Pornography’s effects on crime and domestic violence have been inconclusive. Some studies support the contention that the viewing of pornographic material may increase rates of sexual crimes whereas others either suggest no effect, or conclude the liberalization of porn in society may be associated with decreased rape and sexual violence rates.

Among criminals and juveniles

Silbert, M. and Pines, A., in “Pornography and Sexual Abuse of Women,” published their study involving prostitutes in the international journal Sex Roles, “The comments followed the same pattern: the assailant referred to pornographic materials he had seen or read and then insisted that the victims not only enjoyed rape but also extreme violence.”

The study Use of Pornography in the Criminal and Developmental Histories of Sexual Offenders examined the exposure to and the usage of pornography in the histories of 38 rapists and 26 child molesters.

The study found that both groups reported exposure to pornography and were “significantly more likely” to use pornographic materials prior to and during their offenses. According to the study pornography was employed to relieve an impulse to act out. According to the study, child molesters indicated “significantly more” exposure to pornography than rapists in adulthood.

According to the study “Pornography Use as a Risk Marker for an Aggressive Pattern of Behavior Among Sexually Reactive Children and Adolescents”, sexually reactive children and adolescents (SRCAs), also referred to as juvenile sexual offenders, “may be more vulnerable and likely to experience damaging effects from pornography use.” According to the study, the SRCAs who used pornography were “more likely” to display aggressive behaviors than their nonusing counterparts.

Pornography’s Impact on Male Adolescents – Research concerning the relationship between such. Pornography’s Impact on Male Adolescents 565 attitudinal changes and antisocial behavior, suggesting … thanks to UCLA.

Inadvertent exposure to pornography on the Internet: Implications of peer-to-peer file-sharing networks for child development and families ? Pages 741-750 Patricia M. Greenfield

Teenage girls pressured to imitate pornographic scenes
Teenage girls are coming under pressure to imitate pornographic scenes that are in widespread circulation among youngsters, according to a poll.

She said: “Girls will do things on webcams to entertain boys.” Another said: “Once they send the picture it gets used against them.

The boy will say, ‘Do more or I’ll show everybody the pictures’. Everyone always regrets what they do.”

A high number of secondary school pupils are accessing explicit material, with nearly 90 per cent of 13 to 17-year-olds telling pollsters they had seen porn. Most watched online or on material sent to mobile phones.

The survey was carried out for Channel 4’s The Sex Education Show Vs Pornography which discovered a third of teens thought pornography was “a good thing”. Interviews with teenagers revealed some girls were making recordings to “entertain boys” by copying explicit scenes from films.

A 15-year-old girl told programme makers how her peers record themselves imitating pornographic scenes.

 

Protecting Yourself

The best defense against date rape is to try to prevent it whenever possible.

Here are some things both girls and guys can do:

• Avoid secluded places (this may even mean your room or your partner’s) until you trust your partner.
• Don’t spend time alone with someone who makes you feel uneasy or uncomfortable. This means following your instincts and removing yourself from situations that you don’t feel good about.
• Stay sober and aware. If you’re with someone you don’t know very well, be aware of what’s going on around you and try to stay in control. Also, be aware of your date’s ability to consent to sexual activity — you may become guilty of committing rape if the other person is not in a condition to respond or react.
• Know what you want. Be clear about what kind of relationship you want with another person. If you are not sure, then ask the other person to respect your feelings and to give you time. Don’t allow yourself to be subject to peer pressure or encouraged to do something that you don’t want to do.
• Go out with a group of friends and watch out for each other.
• Don’t be afraid to ask for help if you feel threatened.
• Take self-defense courses. These can build confidence and teach valuable physical techniques a person can use to get away from an attacker.

Getting Help

Sadly, even if someone takes every precaution, date rape happens.

TAKE ACTION: If you’re raped, here are some things that you can do:

If you’re injured, go straight to the emergency room — most medical centers and hospital emergency departments have doctors and counselors who have been trained to take care of someone who has been raped.

Call or find a friend, family member, or someone you feel safe with and tell them what happened.
If you want to report the rape, call the police right away. Preserve all the physical evidence. Don’t change clothes or wash.

Write down as much as you can remember about the event.

If you aren’t sure what to do, call a rape crisis center. If you don’t know the number, your local phone book will have hotline numbers.

Don’t be afraid to ask questions and get information. You’ll have lots of questions as you go through the process — such as whether to report the rape, who to tell, and the kinds of reactions you may get from others.

Rape isn’t just physically damaging — it can be emotionally traumatic as well. It may be hard to think or talk about something as personal as being raped by someone you know. But talking with a trained rape crisis counselor or other mental health professional can give you the right emotional attention, care, and support to begin the healing process. Working things through can help prevent lingering problems later on.

NO MEANS NO This website provides background information on the No Means No campaign against violence against women and gender-based violence. Sample materials and press releases are available for anyone who is looking to help in the fight to end violence against women to their campus.

The Canadian Federation of Students developed the No Means No campaign more than fifteen years ago to tackle the issues of violence against women on canadian campuses. Originally, the campaign was developped to raise awareness and to reduce the occurrence of date rape and dating violence.

Reviewed by: D’Arcy Lyness, PhD