Ms

RAPE EXPERIENCES

AND FEARS

IN CONSIDERING THE PHENOMENOLOGY OF WOMEN'S FEAR OF RAPE (FOR), this

paper will examine both the psychological elements of FOR as well as women's

experiences of rape. Information in this paper has been based on a study

conducted at the University of Queensland during 1992. All subjects in this study

were female aged eighteen years and older from non-clinical populations. There

was a total of 412 subjects, with 58.8 per cent of subjects under thirty years of

age, a median age of eighteen to nineteen years and an age range of eighteen to

sixty-seven years. A number of different populations were accessed, although the

largest group was comprised of first year psychology students completing the

questionnaire to gain credit, of which there were 133 (32.3 per cent).

Subjects were given a questionnaire investigating both their fear of being raped and a

number of questions regarding their experiences of being raped. In addition, all subjects

were asked to provide their views on, for example, how rape should be defined and what

methods they use to try and avoid being raped.

This paper will initially consider the issue of fear of rape and refer to previous studies

conducted in this area. The rest of the paper will be based on the findings of the present

study in the two main areas of FOR and descriptive variables of the rape experiences of the

subjects.

Fear of Rape (FOR) and Fear of Crime (FOC) Studies

It has been recognised within the area of criminology, since the results of the 1969 President'

Commission of Law Enforcement (USA), that the social consequences of crime are not

limited to simply the direct victims of a particular crime (Warr 1985), but that the incidence

of fear of crime within the society far outweighs the number of actual victims (Hindelang,

Gottfredson & Garofalo 1978; Maxfield 1984; Skogan & Maxfield 1981). A number of

Without Consent: Confronting Adult Sexual Violence

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researchers have commented on the negative psychological effects of experiencing frequent

fear; specifically that it reduces quality of life and forces people to change their behaviour

(Clemente & Kleiman 1977; Hamner & Stanko 1985). Fear of crime is also frequently used

as a central issue in soliciting potential voters during political campaigns.

The recognition of the possible negative consequences of fear of crime has led a

number of researchers, particularly from the fields of criminology, sociology and media, to

investigate the nature of FOC. Findings have consistently indicated that sex and age are the

two biggest predictors of individuals' FOCwomen and the elderly have significantly higher

levels of FOC than other groups (see Baumer 1978; Garofalo 1979; Hindelang 1974;

Maxfield 1984; Warr 1985). As incidence statistics show that men, particularly young men,

are the most likely victims of all crimes except sexual assault (Junger 1987), the

inconsistency between likelihood of victimisation and fear of victimisation has fuelled much

debate.

It is the area of sexual assault and women's fear of becoming victim to this type of crime

that has been suggested by a number of researchers to be the pivotal point in understanding

the apparent discrepancy between genders in terms of FOC and actual victimisation.

It has been suggested that all women are victims of rape to the extent that they all

experience a fear of rape and it is thus a 'universal condition' (Warr 1985) for women

(Brownmiller 1975; Burt & Estep 1981; Griffin 1971). As early as 1971, Griffin and, in

1975, Brownmiller were writing about the devastating effects for women of the widespread

and 'insidious' fear of rape. In 1978, a study by Riger, Gordon and LeBailly suggested that

women had an additional crime to fear that men did notrape, and so more overtly

introduced the topic of fear of rape to research. Maxfield (1984) in a Home Office study of

fear of crime in the United Kingdom has also suggested that a central explanation of

women's fear of crime is the threat of rape. Junger (1987) suggested that fear of crime

equated for women with fear of rape. As such, Junger stated that fear of rape is the area

researchers should concentrate on when investigating women's fear of crime. Riger, Gordon,

and LeBailly (1978) conclude in their study investigating women's fear of crime, that

examination of fear of rape would be especially useful in understanding women's greater fear

of crime.

Despite these assertions and recognition throughout the FOC research that women's

FOR is a topic of significance, little research has been done in the area. The studies have

generally been in response