What Differentiates Anal Rapists From Vaginal Rapists?

• NCJ Number: 201927
• Journal: International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology Volume: 47 Issue: 4 Dated: August 2003 Pages: 482-488
• Author(s): Wolfgang Neuwirth; Reinhard Eher
• Date Published: August 2003
• Length: 7 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This article discusses the difference between rapists that commit their offenses through anal penetration and vaginal penetration.

Abstract

Rapists do not constitute a homogenous group of criminals. No empirical data have been published confirming the hypothesis that there is a link between a sadistic sexual perversion and anal penetration during the offense. A sample of 62 consecutively selected, imprisoned, adult, male, heterosexual rapists was studied between January 2002 and September 2002. Group 1 consisted of rapists that had at least one anal manipulation in their index offense. Group 2 was defined by rape restricted to vaginal penetration or manipulation. There was no difference in age and total amount of previous convictions and verbal IQ between these two groups. Interviews were conducted for diagnosing personality disorders, determining the level of psychopathy, and measuring aggression. The results show that, although there was evidence of more violence during the anal offense, there was no difference in the dimension of psychopathy between the groups. The prevalence of cluster B personality disorders did not differ significantly across groups. It was concluded that anal rapists might have more suppressed aggression that might turn in to hypersexualization and/or sexual perversion. Anal rapists were shown to have more sexual drive. They were diagnosed with a hypersexual desire disorder significantly more often than vaginal rapists were. Compared to vaginal rapists, anal rapists were not more violent in general. But they tended to have more problems with unconscious anger, which consequently becomes sexualized during the offense, and in turn, act out more aggressively during the offense. This research data are preliminary. More studies including bigger sample sizes should be conducted. 2 tables, 21 references