All
Mikk's point might seem to have an element of truth in it,however you need to consider the following male on male rape....i.e. say a colourfully dress slight built male is raped by Bikkie types. The point of the assault was to belittle the victim. (because he wasn't like them clearly a dominance/power issue). Not to enjoy sex.

Closer examination of the serial rapists reveals that the 'perps' get off on the humiliation rather than the sex act.

Even listening to date rapists their concern is more about being denied something they want.
"How dare she lead me on and then stop at that moment....I showed her (implied who's boss)".
Or "She was asking for it" (implied) And *I* gave it to her).

The footy-boys gang rape...(implied) WE privileged her we're important.
or (implied) I was maintaining my position in the group. they are all essentially power based.

My point was that we should punish the cause i.e. discourage the power abuse not sex per se. Currently the perps are being punished for the act of penetration (the sex).

Suzie on line, there is a distinction between Assault and Assault and battery occasioning grievous bodily harm (GBH). A matter of years in prison length. there is also leeway in the the degree of sentencing within the category.

I am definitely NOT trivialising or suggesting that the crime be down graded.

This is in fact an attempt to punish the perpetrator and not stigmatise the victim. The implications are that it would tend to make court actions less invasively traumatic for the victim.

Consider the differences with male rape.

If you think about the issue much of the victim's trauma is culturally/religiously based.
A look at my last post in 'where do you draw the line" explains the context as clearly as I can.

The Pied Piper: "Weird Exam… my thoughts would be rape is all about sex because it is the use of sex to degrade or take power."

That is a standard feminist line but I am a little surprised it came from you.

Look - I'll tell you some things you already know. Point 1: men love sex, will do anything to get sex - some will even screw goats if there are no woman handy. Men also love variety in sex. Every man has dreamt of sleeping with a different woman every night.

Point 2: some men are prepared to use violence to get what they want - money, drugs, food, sex or whatever. In these terms "Power" is simply an alias for "I can take what I want without fighting for it". It is not an end - it is a means to an end.

Combine those two things and you get rape. Its dead simple. Don't make things more complex than they are. Leave that to the feminist thinkers in their ivory towers.

Suzeonline has got the finger on the pulse on this.

Examinator,

Desexualize it?. The only benefit that would have would be for the benefit of the perpetraitor. What's next, paedophlies?. If people are raped then the perpetraitor's criminal record should state what sort of scum bag they are.

Exam said "If you think about the issue much of the victim's trauma is culturally/religiously based." - regarding rape of a male.

You mean because of the sodomy issue?. You're kidding me right?

It is just something I never thought about it before – what Suzy said seems more correct in cases where the victim freezes and there is no bodily damage as such. These must also be the difficult rape cases to prove.

I don’t think Exam would have meant to cause any hurt Fractelle. Foxy’s “legal impact” comment I guess is what Exam was asking about – the wording of the crime or title or something. Maybe he was getting at the fact that all this talk of it not being about sex is rubbish.

A bizarre encounter: Night time and I am walking past a counsel park type thing and this dude grabs me, hand over mouth pulls me back through the bushes and throws me on the ground. He goes to grab me again and his eyes met mine and he says “f’ck Julie I didn’t know it was you”. I said a few choice words and he walked me home – since it wasn’t safe to be out at night walking on my own.

I was a teenager but bloody hell, it was one of the stranger things to happen in my life.

Dear examinator,

I agree with you in that -
the extent of rape seems to depend on cultural
factors. Rape prone societies accord women
low status, and encourage aggressiveness in boys.
In rape as in other aspects of human behaviour,
the conduct of the individual is influenced by
the norms of the surrounding society.

I also agree that defense lawyers in rape cases
typically try to shift the burden of guilt from
the accused to the victim. They often try to show
that the woman is "loose," implying that if she
has consented to any man before, she must have
been willing on this occasion also. Or utilizing
the myth that women somehow enjoy being raped,
they may claim that the victim consciously or
subconsciously encouraged the assault. They may even
argue that she was provocatively dressed and was at fault -
another example of the way in which responsibility for the
control of male advances is shifted to the female.

Such lines of defence are unique to the crime of rape.
A well dressed man stepping from an expensive limo
would never be accused of thereby tempting someone to
mug him.

Laws regarding this crime should not be de-sexualised
until we treat both sexes with great respect, and admire
nurturant rather than aggressive traits.

RStuart:“The Pied Piper: "Weird Exam… my thoughts would be rape is all about sex because it is the use of sex to degrade or take power."

That is a standard feminist line but I am a little surprised it came from you.”

I completely missed this before. Sorry Mr Stuart. Husband is trying to explain to me where you are right or what you mean. He is saying it isn’t about sex but is an element of the act because if it was purely about violence they would just go and beat someone and if it was about power it is the power to make someone submit to your will.

I understand neither of you. I feel it is a sexual act no matter the motivation. To the victim isn’t it the sex that is more upsetting than just getting beaten up?

Given that you and hubby are attempting to get me to understand I am getting a horrible feeling that my brain isn’t working properly.

But if men do it then men get to explain the motivation. But for the victim does the motivation matter or the impact and which should the law acknowlege?