NCJ Number
184692
Date Published
2000
Length
267 pages
Annotation
This book uses evolutionary biology to explain the causes of rape and to recommend new approaches to its prevention.
Abstract
The authors argue that evolved adaptation gives rise to rape; the evolutionary issue is whether rape is itself an adaptation or a by-product of other adaptations. Regardless of the answer, according to the authors, rape circumvents a central feature of women's reproductive strategy, i.e., their choice of a mate. This is the primary reason rape is so devastating to its victims, especially young women. The book uses scientific data to challenge many myths about rape bred by social science theory over the past 25 years. The popular contention that rapists are motivated by the aggressive drive to dominate their victims rather than by their sexual drive is considered by the authors to be scientifically inaccurate. Although the book contends that rape is biological, it is not viewed as inevitable. The recommendations for rape prevention include teaching young males about the consequences of rape, both for the rapist and for rape victims; punishing rape more severely; and studying the effectiveness of "chemical castration." They also recommend that young women consider the biological causes of rape when making decisions about dress, appearance, and social activities. Rape can be eliminated, the authors argue, only in a society that is knowledgeable about its evolutionary causes and how they may be countered by social conditioning. The book includes a summary of evolutionary theory and a comparison of evolutionary biology's and social science's explanations of human behavior. Chapter notes, a glossary, 570 references, and a subject index