Who Are Rapists, and Why?

"When men are successful, they seek out women as trophies; and when they are at a loss, they rely on women to dispel their sorrow." This is the way one woman writer describes "how men treat women." Unfortunately, the statement is still very fitting in the context of sexual abuse. Only by understanding the special characteristics and background of men who abuse women sexually will women gain an understanding of who is likely to be a sex offender, and will society be able to treat this illness.

"In a dark night, a woman in a revealing dress returns home from her job in the night- life industry. The sight of her inflames the passions of a villain, and he strikes." In the wake of research about sexual abuse, this view of rape has less and less credibility. That being the case, what sort of person becomes a sexual offender? What motivates their behavior?

Police departments of every nation have begun to unravel this mystery, and have come up with a vague outline of the type. Now various clinical experiments are being undertaken to determine how to treat sexual offenders. With the number of these cases rapidly climbing and the rate of repeat offenders growing to new heights, society will have to show greater concern and commit more resources to gain a deeper understanding of this issue.

The ineradicable wound of rape

Professor Chen Juochang, the director of National Tsinghua University's General Education Center, who once worked at a sanitarium treating sexual offenders, says that among those who commit the serious offense of thirddegree rape, their behavior seems to be rooted in their personal history. In particular, many were sexually abused as children.

It has been revealed that half or more of all rapists were sexually abused or raped as children by adults, including both men and women. If they don't deal with the psychological impact of these experiences and seek counseling, these nightmarish incidents are likely to haunt them for the rest of their lives. The littleboy victims often turn into perpetrators themselves, whereas the girls tend toward the opposite extreme. Their own bodies have been so violated that their sense of proper boundaries has been weakened, and they grow up to become women who are repeatedly raped.

Secondly, rapists come primarily from dysfunctional families-for instance, where an alcoholic father is physically abusive, the parents have frequent fights (both physical and verbal), or the family is constantly moving. Without proper guidance, some of these children turn into delinquents, and others, who are whipped and beaten, develop low selfesteem. Regardless of the individual circumstances, these children all bear heavy psychological pressure and lack an sense of right and wrong. They hold many misconceptions, such as thinking that society is unfair, that one can only get respect through fighting, or that "all women need to be taught a good lesson." Using terminology currently in vogue, they have low EQs (emotional quotients).

With these personality problems, it's easy to imagine that these children wouldn't have respect for authority: they tend to have poor grades; have trouble finding good jobs; and have difficulties with interpersonal relations, particularly in establishing stable relationships with members of the opposite sex. It becomes a vicious cycle, one that reinforces their anger at the world. Many of the famous "angrytype" killers, such as the "neck slasher" who attacked women in the Panchiao area of Taipei County or the assailant who killed Peng Wanju, the director of Women's Affairs for the Democratic Progressive Party, fit this type. ROC statistics suggest that such crimes of anger account for about 35% of all criminal cases, an abundance that strikes fear in the hearts of women.

Of course, "anger" and "frustration" are causes for many types of violent crime, but why do these criminals target women who as individuals have done nothing to incite their wrath? The obvious answer is that women are weaker and more easily taken advantage of, and in fact many sexual offenders were torturers of small animals first. Nonetheless, even if the psychological problems of sex offenders are rooted in personal history, the impact of the social environment should not be ignored.

Objectifying women

Wang Lijung, an associate professor of sociology at Taiwan National University, points out that as men are socialized, they will accumulate experiences that shape how they think about women. Many of these are misconceptions, and in extreme cases are quite twisted. These views are illustrated in pornographic videos and magazines. Absorbing these derogatory views of women's character only strengthens sex offenders' misogyny.

"Men cling stubbornly to misconceptions that objectify women," says Maria Cheng, the director of the Back to Authentic Self Counseling Center. In sports men will frequently have their upper bodies exposed without any meaning attached to it, "yet women's bodies have always been covered, and even today are still thought to need covering, as if to show that a woman's body is some man's personal property and for his eyes only."

With this idea of girls and women being a man's private property and the tradition of "obeying one's father and then one's husband," fathers who commit incest have been known to shamelessly assert, "When girls grow up, they'll be used by someone else. You might as well use them yourself first!" What's more, in traditional society the authority that a master had over his maidservant could easily extend from their working to their private lives, and between them adultery and flirtation were treated as no big deal. This way of thinking survives in the present day, among businessmen who sexually abuse or harass their secretaries with the expectation that they will become their mistresses too. This is the category of the "respectable" sex offender, whose behavior is illustrated by the expressions "power is the best aphrodisiac" and "after getting comfortable, thoughts turn to sex." Though they lack exposure, they incur the wrath of feminists, who find them particularly loathsome.

From this idea of "private property and "privilege," so follows the belief that "he who gets the girl in bed first, gets the girl." When showing off, male youths often ask each other "What base did you get to?," almost with the attitude that "once you've hit a homer, you won't be worried she'll run away." Absurdly, there have even been cases where a family of a rape victim will not try to protect her by keeping her well away from the culprit, but to the contrary will throw her into the lion's den by insisting that the rapist marry her! Chang Juwen, who in a celebrated case killed her own husband two years ago, was one such woman. More recently, after one of the leading disciples of con-artist-cum-religious-master Sung Chi-li raped a woman follower, rapist and victim married at the insistence of her father.

Wolves in sheep's clothing

Maria Cheng also warns that many sex crimes are committed in the name of love. In many cases, particularly those involving children and teenagers, the rape occurs conspiratorially without any force being used by a father or other older family member, or by a teacher or elder student or someone else with powerful status who seems to have a protective attitude toward the youngster. For young girls, caught in the trap of love or ignorant about the ways of the world, "they simply don't think about it, for they don't want to hurt the offender's feelings or get him in trouble." It is only after the sexual relations occur that they realize they have been tricked and manipulated. One college student knows one such scoundrel who has "caused seven women to lose their virginity, only to break up with each of them after getting them into bed."

At the same time, Cheng warns about the many incidents of "date rape." In such cases the offender sets up in advance a romantic environment and takes advantage of a women after she has imbibed alcohol and is no longer herself. Caught in this trap, the woman hesitates or panics, and is half forced, half persuaded into the sexual encounter. Instead of calling this "love" or "sex," perhaps it would be better to say that it is enjoying the feeling of manipulation and conquest.

When it comes to sex, there is poor communication between the sexes. This may be another cause of sexual crimes.

Luo Tsanying, an associate professor of psychology at the World College of Journalism and Communications, points out that the two sexes have traditionally had the socalled "sex and love script," wherein the man is supposed to be the initiator and the woman is supposed to refuse the sexual advances to demonstrate her demure propriety. Women very rarely speak about their sexual expectations, likes and dislikes, and since men, intentionally or unintentionally, ignore what women have to say anyway, it results in the "guy on offense, gal on defense" script that is largely taken for granted. In the film "Gone with the Wind" when Rhett Butler and Scarlet O'Hara are in the middle of a nasty fight, Rhett doesn't defend himself against her kicks and sharp cries, but instead just picks her up by the waist, carries her upstairs and enters the bedroom. The next day, Scarlet smiles bashfully with a radiant face that exudes happiness. It's a classic example.

Rewriting the script

The survey conducted for this issue of Sinorama shows that onethird of all respondents (both women and men) feel that if a woman allows a man to kiss or embrace her it signals she is willing to have sex. Many women victims of sexual crimes have stated that they said something to the effect of "It's O.K. to feel, but you can't go beyond that!" But because the men were aroused and mistakenly believed that "women are only impressed by shows of force" or that "when women say no, they couldn't be wanting it more," the men wouldn't take no for an answer and even refused to accept blame afterwards. There are even some rapists who will ask their terrorized victims, whose vaginas are torn and who have been scared half to death, "Did you like it?" or "I'm pretty good, huh?"

Sexual misconceptions not only have an effect on the crime but also on the verdict. In particular, in regard to date rape and sexual harassment in the workplace, women need the courage to endure gossip when they make an accusation, and they may not be believed. The whole thing may be treated very lightly as "a misunderstanding" or "lovers' quarrel." The only solution is for women to raise their guard. "If a nearby man frequently makes lewd remarks, establish greater distance," Wang Lijung suggests. When you feel that "something is amiss," don't hesitate; get out of there right away!

Sex crimes are rooted both in individuals' personal histories and general social phenomena. They can be seen as a form of release, vengeance, possessiontaking, and manipulation, and maybe even a mistaken search for love. Only with proper emotional guidance and sex education, so that women are respected as equals, will the number of sex crimes decline.

p.18

In dark corners of society, there are still many women under the control of others,

becoming sex toys for men. The photo is of an activity to help rescue underage prostitutes in

the notorious Snake Alley district of Taipei. (photo by Diago Chiu)

p.20

Violence, incest, sex, abuse. . . . To what extent do pornographic videos have a deleterious effect on relations between men and women? How can they be eradicated?

This is a difficult problem for contemporary society.

(photo by Pu Huachih)