# Why do men rape? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 31, 2002, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-men-rape/126400 "2002-08-31T02:22:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![LolaCocaCola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7cd45c/32.png) [@LolaCocaCola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LolaCocaCola)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2002, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-men-rape/126400/1 "2002-08-31T02:22:56Z")
I am watching 20/20 and they just said that **every 6 minutes** a woman gets raped. That statistic shocked me! Why do men hate women so much? šŸ˜• ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2002, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-men-rape/126400/2 "2002-08-31T02:28:50Z")
I think Iā€™d like to see how they compiled that statistic. ---
**Author:** ![LolaCocaCola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7cd45c/32.png) [@LolaCocaCola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LolaCocaCola)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2002, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-men-rape/126400/3 "2002-08-31T02:32:18Z")
I donā€™t know, but Iā€™ve heard that statistic elsewhere before. I imagine by compiling police reports. ---
**Author:** ![stofsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dfb087/32.png) [@stofsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stofsky)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2002, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-men-rape/126400/4 "2002-08-31T02:36:51Z")
Iā€™d like to see that too. Iā€™d also like to see where you buy that wide a brush with which to paint 48 or so percent of the worldā€™s population. ---
**Author:** ![monica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a183cd/32.png) [@monica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monica)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2002, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-men-rape/126400/5 "2002-08-31T02:50:45Z")
I heard that rape isnā€™t so much a sexual thing as much as a power thing. ---
**Author:** ![LolaCocaCola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7cd45c/32.png) [@LolaCocaCola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LolaCocaCola)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2002, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-men-rape/126400/6 "2002-08-31T02:55:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by monica \* > \*\*I heard that rape isnā€™t so much a sexual thing as much as a power thing. \*\* So they rape women to feel more powerful? How about going to the gym and lifting weights instead? Oh, btw this website shows how they compile the statistics: [http://www.u.arizona.edu/~sexasslt/official.html#police\_method](http://www.u.arizona.edu/~sexasslt/official.html#police_method) > [@](#): > > **Methodology** > > Official police statistics document how many sexual assaults have been reported to the police. In the United States, forcible rape is an index crime collected by the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) through the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program and published annually in Crime in the United States. Seven crime categories - murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft ā€“ are collectively known as the Crime Index. The official purpose of tracking the Crime Index is to ā€œmeasure the trend and distribution of crime in the United Statesā€ (Maguire and Pastore 1996, p. 325). However, the data are most reliable as indicators of the functioning of law enforcement. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2002, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-men-rape/126400/7 "2002-08-31T03:04:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by LolaCocaCola \* > \*\*I am watching 20/20 and they just said that **every 6 minutes** a woman gets raped. \*\* Who is this woman? Shouldnā€™t she start carrying some pepper spray? Kidding aside, that statistic is disgusting. ---
**Author:** ![LolaCocaCola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7cd45c/32.png) [@LolaCocaCola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LolaCocaCola)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2002, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-men-rape/126400/8 "2002-08-31T03:10:53Z")
Wow, I admit Iā€™ve never really done any reading on this topic before, but I just now checked a website that says the statistic is one every TWO minutes! ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2002, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-men-rape/126400/9 "2002-08-31T03:16:29Z")
> [@](#): > > Why do men hate women so much? Vagina envy. ---
**Author:** ![UncleBill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/d26b3c/32.png) [@UncleBill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBill)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2002, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-men-rape/126400/10 "2002-08-31T03:30:16Z")
From that link: 102,096 is the estimated number of rapes reported to the police in the US. It is also estimated that 84% of rapes are not reported to the police. So there **would** be 638,100 rapes per year, based on that estimate. Staggering number. A rape every six minutes is 10 an hour, 240 a day, and 87,600 per year. Yes, 20/20 seems to be wrong, it looks like it happens more often than every six minutes (more like every 5 minutes), based solely on the incidences reported to the police. Based on the estimated 84% MORE rapes than reported, a woman is raped every 49 seconds. I was really hoping to debunk that. ---
**Author:** ![LolaCocaCola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7cd45c/32.png) [@LolaCocaCola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LolaCocaCola)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2002, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-men-rape/126400/11 "2002-08-31T03:41:02Z")
And they also say itā€™s usually by someone they _know!_ I just donā€™t get it. ā˜¹ ---
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2002, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-men-rape/126400/12 "2002-08-31T04:35:22Z")
I donā€™t understand it either. Personally, I wouldnā€™t be able to get it up if\* I was going to rape someone. Thereā€™s not much less arousing than the thought that the women Iā€™m about to have sex with doesnā€™t want me to the point where Iā€™m physically forcing her to screw me. \*Extremely big, read non-existant, if. ---
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2002, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-men-rape/126400/13 "2002-08-31T04:43:57Z")
If it makes you feel any better in the Trobriand Islands there are roving rape gangs comprised of women. I read about what happens to the men they catch ā€“ not pretty (but funny :)). ---
**Author:** ![sunstone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunstone/32/3372_2.png) [@sunstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sunstone)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2002, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-men-rape/126400/14 "2002-08-31T05:00:08Z")
OKā€¦Iā€™m a man, and I donā€™t even begin to understand why a man would rape any one. I have to think that this is more a case of the rapist being filled with rage, and a twisted sense of woking out dominance over others. To me, it is pretty much like the motivation of a murdererā€¦it certainly canā€™t be really related to sex, as sex has to do with having FUN with the other person. I also suppose that it is tied into the heightened penchance for males to engage in violent and antisocial behavior as evidence by the number of males vs females in prison. Heyā€¦I like testosterone! It is a biological necessityā€¦but unchecked sometimes has undesirable side effects. Us guys need to control agressionā€¦there is no excuse for rape. ---
**Author:** ![syncrolecyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f08c70/32.png) [@syncrolecyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/syncrolecyne)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2002, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-men-rape/126400/15 "2002-08-31T05:02:10Z")
Stories about strangers breaking into apartments the middle of the night or sneaking in dark deserted parking lots for a lone woman are scary, but the majority of rapes occur when a man gets the idea that he is entitled to sex with a woman he knows - and has perhaps even dated. Thatā€™s where power over a woman comes into the situation. A lot of these rapists donā€™t even think what they are doing is ā€˜rapeā€™ā€¦just ā€˜scoringā€™. Someone like William Kennedy Smith is more typical of a rapistā€™s attitude than a stereotypical thug. Some of the statistics over how many women are raped at a college or university campus every year are downright frightening. Also, as an aside, do these rape statistics include statutory rape? ---
**Author:** ![im2evil4u](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b5ac83/32.png) [@im2evil4u](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/im2evil4u)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2002, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-men-rape/126400/16 "2002-08-31T05:24:10Z")
According to the 90,455 ā€œtrue crime storyā€ shows I have seen on TV: Apparently, most men who have been abused (physically, mentally or sexually) or neglected by their mothers or any other female that played a major role in their lives, have a propensity to violence (rape/ abuse/ murder). This is not my opinion, just what I have heard. It is empowerment, these men in some way, shape or form feel that this type of behavior makes them real men and therefore stronger. As opposed to how they have spent their entire lives. ---
**Author:** ![Ms2001](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ms2001/32/18463_2.png) [@Ms2001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms2001)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2002, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-men-rape/126400/17 "2002-08-31T06:13:19Z")
Why do women tease? ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2002, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-men-rape/126400/18 "2002-08-31T08:21:39Z")
> [@](#): > > Thereā€™s not much less arousing than the thought that the women Iā€™m about to have sex with doesnā€™t want me to the point where Iā€™m physically forcing her to screw me. Fortunately, youā€™re in the majority. I would say that thereā€™s a good number of people out there who REALLY get off on exerting power over others. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_The\_Bold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/41988e/32.png) [@Dale\_The\_Bold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_The_Bold)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2002, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-men-rape/126400/19 "2002-08-31T08:29:10Z")
ā€œWhy do men hate women so much?ā€ I donā€™t hate women, and the last time I peed I was still a man. I think some men are driven more by sex (and/or the need for ā€œpowerā€) than other influences. The unfortunate thing is that a guy who is driven by intellect, and seeks women for more respectable reasons end up dateless. Thatā€™s just the way it is, but Iā€™ve used the time to restore a car, so all isnā€™t lost. ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2002, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-men-rape/126400/20 "2002-08-31T10:37:53Z")
> [@](#): > > the last time I peed I was still a man. Dear lord, what happened since then?!? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-men-rape/126400.md?page=2)