# Can animals be traumatised by rape? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 5, 2010, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-animals-be-traumatised-by-rape/545645 "2010-07-05T23:00:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Laudenum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Laudenum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laudenum)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2010, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-animals-be-traumatised-by-rape/545645/1 "2010-07-05T23:00:35Z")
Inspired by a post in the bestiality thread. I would imagine that physical injury from a human-animal rape, like a hamster or small dog, would be traumatising. But is there any evidence that there is a mental element? Can an animal be traumatised by rape? Either intra or inter species. Or is it only humans? ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2010, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-animals-be-traumatised-by-rape/545645/2 "2010-07-05T23:07:35Z")
A couple of years ago, we allowed our purebred female to be mated with a breeder’s male. (She was the last intact member of her side of the family, the others being killed in a freak accident.) We got pick of the resulting litter, a handsome but oftentimes goofy boy. When he does something especially silly, I look at her and ask, “How did you raise such a goofy boy?” She then stares at me as if saying, “Well, you’re the one who pimped me out!” ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2010, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-animals-be-traumatised-by-rape/545645/3 "2010-07-05T23:21:26Z")
this is another thread that would benefit from “need to know quickly”. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2010, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-animals-be-traumatised-by-rape/545645/4 "2010-07-05T23:52:39Z")
I can’t help noticing a theme to your threads. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2010, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-animals-be-traumatised-by-rape/545645/5 "2010-07-05T23:52:49Z")
The neighbor’s Doberman raped our timid dog and from then on she attacked it every time it trespassed in our yard until the day the neighbor’s dog became dog splat on the highway. Our dog was a chicken except when dealing with that much larger Doberman. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2010, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-animals-be-traumatised-by-rape/545645/6 "2010-07-05T23:53:54Z")
WAG: Animals certainly become stressed and afraid and occasionally aggressive when faced with a situation similar to another situation that caused them fear, pain or discomfort. If you agree to that definition as being “traumatised”, then if they experienced a frightening, painful or uncomfortable sex act, they might react to a similar environment in a “traumatised” manner. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-animals-be-traumatised-by-rape/545645/7 "2010-07-06T00:14:38Z")
> [@Laudenum](#): > > Inspired by a post in the bestiality thread. > > I would imagine that physical injury from a human-animal rape, like a hamster… Physical injury? I’m thinking that might be a bit of an understatement… ---
**Author:** ![Laudenum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Laudenum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laudenum)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-animals-be-traumatised-by-rape/545645/8 "2010-07-06T00:25:30Z")
> [@Spoke](#): > > I can’t help noticing a theme to your threads. One thread leads to another, leads to another…they go in chains. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-animals-be-traumatised-by-rape/545645/9 "2010-07-06T02:04:29Z")
> [@mnemosyne](#): > > WAG: Animals certainly become stressed and afraid and occasionally aggressive when faced with a situation similar to another situation that caused them fear, pain or discomfort. If you agree to that definition as being “traumatised”, then if they experienced a frightening, painful or uncomfortable sex act, they might react to a similar environment in a “traumatised” manner. This is probably correct. They will react to a forced act of intercourse in much the same way they would to any other aggressive act or intact. But animals aren’t going to have the same sort of mental trauma that humans do because of the social significance rape does among humans. ---
**Author:** ![Laudenum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Laudenum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laudenum)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-animals-be-traumatised-by-rape/545645/10 "2010-07-06T02:18:58Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > This is probably correct. They will react to a forced act of intercourse in much the same way they would to any other aggressive act or intact. But animals aren’t going to have the same sort of mental trauma that humans do because of the social significance rape does among humans. Are there any animals traumatised by rape among themselves? Chimp on chimp for example? ---
**Author:** ![Laudenum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Laudenum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laudenum)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-animals-be-traumatised-by-rape/545645/11 "2010-07-06T02:20:01Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Physical injury? I’m thinking that might be a bit of an understatement… Reminds me of the old joke Q: Wanna know why I wrap duct tape around my hamster? A: So it doesn’t burst when I _fuck_ it ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-animals-be-traumatised-by-rape/545645/12 "2010-07-06T03:15:35Z")
> [@Laudenum](#): > > Are there any animals traumatised by rape among themselves? > > Chimp on chimp for example? I doubt it very much, but how would one know? As I said, I doubt that an animal differentiates a forced sex act from any other kind of attack or aggression. Sex doesn’t have the kind of special status that is does in human culture. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-animals-be-traumatised-by-rape/545645/13 "2010-07-06T13:48:10Z")
Apparently about [half of all orangutan sex is rape](http://lowerwisdom.com/2009/06/orangutan-rape/) (or, rather, would be considered rape amongst humans if they acted in a comparable way). This presumably means that virtually all adult female orangs have been raped. I doubt that they are universally traumatized. And, of course, [ducks](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=12331333), are just animals! :eek: Rape is a human social construct. No doubt animals can be traumatized, in some circumstances, by violence and pain, but whether or not it has a sexual component to it is not likely to matter to them. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-animals-be-traumatised-by-rape/545645/14 "2010-07-06T13:52:59Z")
> [@Laudenum](#): > > One thread leads to another, leads to another…they go in chains. In chains, eh? I think Dr Freud might have something to say about that choice of metaphor too. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-animals-be-traumatised-by-rape/545645/15 "2010-07-06T15:06:59Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > Apparently about [half of all orangutan sex is rape](http://lowerwisdom.com/2009/06/orangutan-rape/) (or, rather, would be considered rape amongst humans if they acted in a comparable way). This presumably means that virtually all adult female orangs have been raped. I doubt that they are universally traumatized. That’s a pretty big presumption—you’d be assuming that the “rapists” are choosing their victims at random for each sex act. It may well be the case that the perpetrators seek out victims who are less likely or able to resist, and thus a minority of individual orangutans are raped disproportionately more often than the general population. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-animals-be-traumatised-by-rape/545645/16 "2010-07-06T17:22:37Z")
> [@Laudenum](#): > > Q: Wanna know why I wrap duct tape around my hamster? What good is it to read a joke like this and not know ANYone sick enough to tell it to… which is comforting, I guess, that I don’t hang out with sickos. And per the OP, my poodle will NOT talk about his stint in prison. Bring it up, he just glares until you change the subject. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-animals-be-traumatised-by-rape/545645/17 "2010-07-06T17:44:26Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > That’s a pretty big presumption—you’d be assuming that the “rapists” are choosing their victims at random for each sex act. It may well be the case that the perpetrators seek out victims who are less likely or able to resist, and thus a minority of individual orangutans are raped disproportionately more often than the general population. Female orangutans of any age prefer to mate with older dominant males. Most forced mating is by younger males who are otherwise unable to secure a mating. Older females are usually strong enough to fend off a younger male. So most forced matings are by younger males, and are of younger females. So it’s possible that most female orangs are subject to forced mating before they become old enough to fend off young males. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-animals-be-traumatised-by-rape/545645/18 "2010-07-06T17:49:48Z")
If they can be traumatised, I know a large frog that is going to need a lot of counselling after its ordeal at the hands of a very naughty chimp. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-animals-be-traumatised-by-rape/545645/19 "2010-07-06T18:23:07Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > That’s a pretty big presumption—you’d be assuming that the “rapists” are choosing their victims at random for each sex act. It may well be the case that the perpetrators seek out victims who are less likely or able to resist, and thus a minority of individual orangutans are raped disproportionately more often than the general population. Whatever. Even if it isn’t “virtually all,” on any reasonable scenario a very high proportion of female orangs will have been “raped.” (And, for the reasons that **Colibri** gave, and that you might have figured out for yourself if you had bothered to read the linked article, in actuality it probably _is_ virtually all.) ---
**Author:** ![Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8c91f0/32.png) [@Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bam_Boo_Gut)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2010, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-animals-be-traumatised-by-rape/545645/20 "2010-07-07T02:57:57Z")
We had a very large male rabbit who would get frisky with our tom cat - you know what rabbits are like. Catching them at it, we’d scare off the rabbit, but on reflection it happened quite a lot, it’s not like the rabbit was holding the cat down or anything … hmmmmm. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-animals-be-traumatised-by-rape/545645.md?page=2)