Rape Threat
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

A rape threat is a
threat A threat is a communication of intent to inflict harm or loss on another person. Intimidation is a tactic used between conflicting parties to make the other timid or psychologically insecure for coercion or control. The act of intimidation f ...
of
rape Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, carried out against a person without consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person ...
or
sexual assault Sexual assault is an act of sexual abuse in which one intentionally Physical intimacy, sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or Coercion, coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their w ...
made against another person. Rape threats are often made against prominent
celebrities Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group due to the attention given to them by mass media. The word is also used to refer to famous individuals. A person may attain celebrity status by having great w ...
such as high-profile
writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...
s,
actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...
s,
comedian A comedian (feminine comedienne) or comic is a person who seeks to entertainment, entertain an audience by making them laughter, laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting foolishly (as in slapstick), or employing prop c ...
s,
journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...
s,
businessperson A businessperson, also referred to as a businessman or businesswoman, is an individual who has founded, owns, or holds shares in (including as an angel investor) a private-sector company. A businessperson undertakes activities (commercial ...
and
politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...
s, and may often be made anonymously or online through the use of
social media Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...
, especially against
influencer A social media influencer, or simply influencer (also known as an online influencer), is a person who builds a grassroots online presence through engaging content such as photos, videos, and updates. This is done by using direct audience intera ...
s. Some rape threats are also tools of
coercion Coercion involves compelling a party to act in an involuntary manner through the use of threats, including threats to use force against that party. It involves a set of forceful actions which violate the free will of an individual in order to i ...
used by
organized crime Organized crime is a category of transnational organized crime, transnational, national, or local group of centralized enterprises run to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally thought of as a f ...
to
blackmail Blackmail is a criminal act of coercion using a threat. As a criminal offense, blackmail is defined in various ways in common law jurisdictions. In the United States, blackmail is generally defined as a crime of information, involving a thr ...
,
extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit (e.g., money or goods) through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, although making unfounded ...
, intimidate or
harass Harassment covers a wide range of behaviors of an offensive nature. It is commonly understood as behavior that demeans, humiliates, and intimidates a person, and it is characteristically identified by its unlikelihood in terms of social and ...
non- compliant subjects into
obedience Obedience, in human behavior, is a form of "social influence in which a person yields to explicit instructions or orders from an authority figure". Obedience is generally distinguished from compliance, which some authors define as behavior infl ...
, either directly or implicitly, against the subjects and/or their relatives and close associates. Measure of the general prevalence of rape threats varies substantially depending on whether studies examine online social media specifically; email, text messaging or other forms of communication; threats made in person; whether rape threats are considered a form of attempted rape; and whether rape threats are considered separately from other threats of unwanted sexual contact. According to one study of college-age women in the United States, as many as 90.5% of rape threats are not reported to police, with the most common reason for failure to report being that it was unclear if the action was a crime or that harm was intended. Law enforcement and the courts have been criticized by victims and advocates for an inadequate response to rape threat, and existing laws may often not apply to threat issues via social media. At least two cases have reached national supreme courts.


Definition

A rape threat, or the threat of rape was defined by the National College Women Sexual Victimization Study as a "threat of unwanted penetration with force and threat of force", and by the National Violence Against College Women Study as "threatened forced sexual intercourse, including both psychological coercion as well as physical force". Alternatively, the National Crime Victimization Survey included threats of rape as a form of attempted rape.


Prevalence

According to a 2017 report from
Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...
, 27% of women in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
had received "direct or indirect threats of physical or sexual violence" and 47% reported receiving "sexist or misogynistic abuse".


Online harassment

Rape threats are often made online via social media as a form of
online harassment Cyberbullying (cyberharassment or online bullying) is a form of bullying or harassment using Electronic communication network, electronic means. Since the 2000s, it has become increasingly common, especially among teenagers and Adolescence, a ...
, especially against women. According to English columnist Laurie Penny, "every female writer she knows has received threats of violence and rape." Australian author Emma Jane, described her career writing a weekly column as a "14-year rape-threat-a-palooza". According to Karla Mantilla, editor of the academic journal
Feminist Studies ''Feminist Studies'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal covering women's studies that was established in 1972. It is an independent nonprofit publication housed at the University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland. Besides scholarly artic ...
, "Rape and death threats are so common that they are almost the rule rather than the exception when women are trolled or harassed online." According to one study of 134,000 abusive comments on social media, 88% were found to occur on the platform
Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
, another 8% occurred on
Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...
, and the remainder on various forums and blogs. Another review by
Demos Demos may refer to: Computing * DEMOS, a Soviet Unix-like operating system * DEMOS (ISP), the first internet service provider in the USSR * Demos Commander, an Orthodox File Manager for Unix-like systems * Plural for Demo (computer programming ...
identified 100,000 uses of the word rape on Twitter between December 2013 and February 2014 and estimated that 12% of them were threatening. Another examination found that 9% of women in Australia and 9.6% of women in the United Kingdom reported receiving "comments, email or text messages threatening sexual assault". For the UK, this was more common for women age 20 to 24 (%19.6) followed by women age 25 to 29 years of age (%17), while in Australia women age 40 to 44 was the most affected group (%13.5).


Against politicians

According to a 2016 study of lawmakers from 39 countries by the
Inter-Parliamentary Union The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU; , UIP) is an international organization of national parliaments. Its primary purpose is to promote democratic governance, accountability, and cooperation among its members; other initiatives include advancing g ...
, 44.4% of elected female representative had been threatened with rape or violence while in office, and 65.5% reported that they had received "humiliating remarks of a sexual or sexist nature" either "several times" or "often". One respondent in particular reported that they had received over 500 online rape threats via the social media platform
Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
over the course of four days. Threats against politicians have received increasing coverage resulting in a number of high-profile cases. In 2018, the Indian Minister for Home Affairs ordered police in
Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...
to pursue legal action in the case of rape threats made via Twitter against the 10-year-old daughter of politician Priyanka Chaturvedi. Also in 2018, in connection with the
Brett Kavanaugh Supreme Court nomination On July 9, 2018, President of the United States, President Donald Trump nominated Brett Kavanaugh for Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States to succeed retiring ...
, the offices of a number of US politicians received threats of violence and rape, including that of
Dianne Feinstein Dianne Emiel Feinstein (; June 22, 1933 – September 29, 2023) was an American politician who served as a United States senator from California from 1992 until her death in 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, she served as the 38th ...
. In 2014 Indian actor and Member of Parliament
Tapas Paul Tapas Paul (29 September 1958 – 18 February 2020) was an Indian actor and politician. One of the most celebrated actors of Bengali cinema, Paul is best known for his on-screen roles opposite Mahua Roy Choudhury and Debashree Roy. He recei ...
issued a public apology after threatening to "let loose isboys" to rape members of the opposing
Communist Party of India The Communist Party of India (CPI) is a political party in India. The CPI considers the Foundation of the Communist Party of India, December 26, 1925 Cawnpore (Kanpur) conference as its foundation date. Between 1946 and 1951, the CPI led m ...
. A widespread social media campaign was launched in support of Ghanaian Supreme Court Justice Georgina Theodora Wood following public rape threats against her. In the United Kingdom, Member of Parliament Jess Phillips has called for an end to anonymity for Twitter users after receiving over 600 rape threats in a single night. In 2018, Deserae Morin, a Republican who ran for the
Vermont House of Representatives The Vermont House of Representatives is the lower house of the Vermont General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The House comprises 150 members, with each member representing around 4,100 citizens. Representatives a ...
, received a letter that called her a "cunt" and said, "First, we will rape you for days. You will scream and know that agonizing horror."


In college

In a review of two national studies of college women in the United States, Fisher found that the incidence rate of verbal threats of rape was reported for between 0.01% and 0.48% of respondents. In a 2000, the US Department of Justice's published the results of their The Sexual Victimization of College Women, in which they collected data on four types of threats: * Threat of rape - Threat of unwanted penetration with force and threat of force. * Threat of contact with force or threat of force - Threat of unwanted sexual contact with force and threat of force. * Threat of penetration without force - Threat of unwanted penetration with the threat of nonphysical punishment, promise of reward, or pestering/verbal pressure. * Threat of contact without force - Threat of unwanted sexual contact with the threat of nonphysical punishment, promise of reward, or pestering/verbal pressure. The results indicated that 0.31% had received rape threats, compared with 1.7% who had been the victims of rape. In total, 0.18% had been threatened with contact using force or threat of force, 0.22% had been threatened with penetration without force, and 0.34% had been threatened with contact without force. They found that, of those who had received rape threats, 54.8% occurred off campus, and that 81% of those who received rape threats had taken measures to protect themselves, but that 90.5% of cases were not reported to police. The most common reasons for failure to report threats to police were that: * The victim did not think the incident was serious enough to report (35.8%) * It was unclear if the action was a crime or that harm was intended (39.5%) * Victims did not think police would take the report seriously (34.2%) * The victim did not want other people to know (34.2%) * Because of a lack of proof that the incident had occurred (31.6%) * The victim did not feel that the police would want to be bothered (31.6%)


Legal history

Law enforcement and the court system have received criticism for trivializing the issue of rape threats. In her widely cited 2014 in the ''
Pacific Standard ''Pacific Standard'', founded as ''Miller–McCune'', was an American nonprofit magazine that reported on issues of social and environmental justice. Founded in 2008, the magazine was published in print and online for its first ten years. It was ...
'',   Amanda Hess recounted police on two separate occasions dismissing her reports in response to receiving rape threats online. As the director of the Cyberbullying Research Center told ''
Vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, Habit (psychology), habit or item generally considered morally wrong in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character trait, a defect, an infirmity, or a bad or unhe ...
'', existing laws often do not cover the use of social media. When challenged in at least two cases that reached national supreme courts, the Canadian court found in favor of the plaintiff, while that in the United States found in favor of the defendant.


R v. McCraw

In the case of R v. McCraw, the
Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; , ) is the highest court in the judicial system of Canada. It comprises nine justices, whose decisions are the ultimate application of Canadian law, and grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants eac ...
considered whether rape threats were considered threats of bodily harm under the nation's
Criminal Code A criminal code or penal code is a document that compiles all, or a significant amount of, a particular jurisdiction's criminal law. Typically a criminal code will contain offences that are recognised in the jurisdiction, penalties that might ...
. The defendant had anonymously sent typed letters to three women graphically detailing sexual fantasies and promising that "I'm going to fuck you even if I have to rape you". The courts originally ruled that the letters were not culpable threats, because they constituted "adoring fantasies", and because, as they saw it, "rape does not necessarily involve serious bodily harm or even bodily harm." This was overturned by the Supreme Court, citing that "Rape is an act of violence, not just a sexual act. It is a crime that is likely to have serious psychological consequences and may, as well, have serious physical effects."


Elonis v. United States

In the case of Elonis v. United States the defendant Anthony Elonis had been convicted of four counts related to a series of rape and death threats made on Facebook against his former wife, in addition to threats made to co-workers, a kindergarten class, the local police, and an FBI agent. He was fired from his job for the posts, his wife was granted a three-year protective order against him, and he was eventually sentenced to 44 months imprisonment. Elonis asked the court to dismiss the charges, arguing that these were a form of artistic expression and a therapeutic release. His wife testified that she had perceived the posts as threats, stating she "felt extremely afraid for mine and my children’s and my family’s lives." The
Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...
ruled in favor of Elonis, that the government had failed to demonstrate he intended the remarks to be taken as threats.


See also

* Death threat * Gamergate controversy, an online harassment campaign which targeted women in the video game industry * Laws regarding rape


Notes


References

{{reflist Cyberbullying Rape Speech crimes Online sex crimes