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Essay Date Rape

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Date Rape

When people hear the word "rape" they might imagine a stranger leaping out from the shadows of a dark alley and attacking someone. Although this is partly true, most rapes are committed by people who know their victims. When intercourse is unwanted and forced upon by someone you know, it is known as “ date rape.” It occurs daily and is prevalent on virtually all college campuses across the nation and in cities all over the world.

Date rape generally occurs when a man is alone with a woman. Although it has been reported that men have been raped by women, it is much more common for a woman to be raped by a man. There are several reasons why date rape might occur. Sometimes a man thinks that a woman “owes” him …show more content…

The man may feel angry or rejected if this happens, and may want sexual gratification anyway. The result can be rape.

If only the woman is drunk, the man may see this as an opportunity to take advantage of her because she will most likely be less defensive towards him.
Some men plan the act of rape, and may use alcohol or drugs in order to lesson a woman's judgment. In some cases, someone may slip a drug into a women's drink, causing her to forget what had happened the night before when she wakes the next morning. If a woman is intoxicated and has seemingly consented to having sex, she may feel the next morning that she only acted that way because of the her condition at the time. In a court of law, the man would be found guilty of rape.

Even if substance use is not involved, another factor is mixed signals between the man and the woman. If a woman acts in a friendly or outgoing manner towards a man, he may interpret this as a proposal to have sex. Even if a woman says “no,” the man may think that she is playing hard to get, that the “no” really means “yes.” Some men are sexually aroused when a woman struggles, and may continue in an aggressive no matter what she says to him. This can occur to people who have just met, those who are dating, or even to people who have known each other for years.

There is a thin line between what is known as "mutual consent" and "date rape." They can be confusingly similar because a women

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