# Castration as a punishment for rape. **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 18, 2003, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/castration-as-a-punishment-for-rape/189353 "2003-07-18T10:28:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2003, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/castration-as-a-punishment-for-rape/189353/41 "2003-07-23T02:58:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by The Ryan \* > \*\*Do you have a cite to empirical evidence? (And it’s not a complete dichotomy- rape can be motivated by both sex and other factors.) \*\* You’re quite right in that rape is motivated by a number of factors. As no crime is the same, no motive will be, either. [This](http://www.sociology.org/content/vol003.001/sheff.html) states: > [@](#): > > Studies have repeatedly shown that sex offenders seek to humiliate their victims, as summarized in Darke (1990). Typically, the authors of these studies interpret the intent to humiliate as an interest in power. The theory of shame-rage loops, to be described below, suggests a more elaborate interpretation: being ashamed of themselves in general, assaultive men are also ashamed of their sexual desires. Experiencing women as haughty and rejecting, sex offenders reject the women they see as rejecting them. Feeling humiliated and powerless (a shame state), they humiliate and dominate in return. But since their shame is unacknowledged, it leads to shame-rage loops that produce compulsive violence against women. According to the [Gale Encyclopedia of Psychology:](http://www.findarticles.com/cf_dls/g2699/0002/2699000285/p1/article.jhtml) > [@](#): > > Rape is essentially an act of power and dominance. This paper, [The Theory of Rape](http://hansel.mnstate.edu/classes/CJ400/Monograph/Theory.html) says that > [@](#): > > there is a relatively strong correlation in the ``normal’’ male population between acceptance of rape supportive attitudes and sexual aggression, however measured. For example, Koss et al (1985) report that self reported sexually aggressive college males differed from the non sexually aggressive males in four ways: > > 1. they accepted sexual aggressiveness as normal; > > 2. they saw cross sex relations as largely adversarial; > > 3. they held conservative attitudes towards female sexuality and > > 4. they accepted rape myths as descriptively accurate. As the paper goes on to say, there is, of course, a sexual side to rape: > [@](#): > > The report of Groth (1979) and Cohen et al (1971), that incarcerated rapists are motivated by anger and concern for dominance more often and more powerfully than they are motivated by sexual desire is the basic empirical support for this view. For the sake of the argument, I accept the report as valid. The report does not imply that all forms of sexual aggression are so motivated. More important, even if the motivation of most incarcerated rapists is not sexual, plainly the social meaning of sexual activity for them makes it important to them that their violent acts take a sexual form. Beating, stabbing or shooting a woman sometimes does not achieve satisfying psychic and social consequences. This implies that the sexual meaning of the assault is analytically important and should not be minimized, trivialized or compartmentalized. It also implies that ignoring the sexual meaning of sexual assault abandons the enterprise of explanation. ---
**Author:** ![refusal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ac91a4/32.png) [@refusal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/refusal)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2003, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/castration-as-a-punishment-for-rape/189353/42 "2003-07-23T15:01:31Z")
There is also a fairly serious practical problem with chemical castration. It will require releasing large numbers of rapists from prison into the public (which is scary right away), and then requiring them to report regularly for doses of female hormone. What happens if the offender skips his medication and absconds? You have a rapist with a grudge and testosterone running totally free. ---
**Author:** ![firtreemannd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a8b319/32.png) [@firtreemannd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/firtreemannd)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2003, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/castration-as-a-punishment-for-rape/189353/43 "2003-07-23T19:15:09Z")
I say give the rapist a light punishment and go after the real menace here: The victim. Women who have been raped tend to visit support centers, where they become a n assisstant to the most evil plot ever, to dominate the male race and make them into slaves. the rapist is unknowingly helping this plot. Stop them now! ---
**Author:** ![RNWebner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@RNWebner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RNWebner)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2003, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/castration-as-a-punishment-for-rape/189353/44 "2003-07-23T19:34:07Z")
Castration might work as a solution to rapists. After all, it will significantly decrease their sex drive, almost insuring that they will not commit such an offence again. However, I think that there is another side to the rape issue. A rapist does not only have problems with his sex drive and testosterone levels, but probably has mental issues as well. After all, in order for someone to inflict such horrible mental and physical harm upon someone else for the mere purpose of physical pleasure, he must be seriously lacking compassion, remorse, and many other of the morals we value in our society. Therefore, I don’t think that castration would solve the whole problem. Imprisonment or therapy must be part of the solution. ---
**Author:** ![Susanann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@Susanann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susanann)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2003, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/castration-as-a-punishment-for-rape/189353/45 "2003-07-24T13:11:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Annie-Xmas \* > \*\* Rapists do use other objects to penetrate. It’s called symbolic rape, a way to violate the victim even more. And according to Robert Ressler’s books, it’s very common. \*\* “Common”? Not here in my state. Ok, so how many people do “YOU” personally know who were not raped by a penis? I dont know any. Everyone who I know who was raped was a woman raped by a penis. Please provide specific numbers of the total numbers of people you personally know who were raped by penis’ and other objects . I probably know about a hundred women who were raped, and I heard about another few other hundred rapes from what friends and relatives told me. I also have seen over a hundred rape stories on Court tv and on the news. In all cases, it was a woman who was raped, and it was a penis that was the object. If it is so common for men to be raped, or women to be raped by other objects then how come I dont know of any? How many other types of rapes do other posters have “personal knowledge” of? I still say, cut it off, or give the death penalty, that will solve most of the problems with repeat offendors. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2003, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/castration-as-a-punishment-for-rape/189353/46 "2003-07-24T13:28:09Z")
I know quite a few. I’ll spare you the details. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/castration-as-a-punishment-for-rape/189353.md?page=2)