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Saturday 1 July 2017

Rape

The term rape originates in the Latin rapere (supine stem raptum), "to snatch, to grab, to carry off". In Roman law the carrying off of a woman by force, with or without intercourse, constituted "raptus."

The rape of noblewoman Lucretia by an Etruscan king's son was a starting point of events that led to the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom and establishment of the Roman Republic. As a direct result of her rape, Lucretia committed suicide. Many artists and writers were inspired by the story, including Shakespeare who wrote a long poem "The Rape of Lucrece" about the tragic event as well as Botticelli, Chaucer, Rembrandt and Titian.

Titian's Tarquin and Lucretia (1571)

If you were an Ancient Roman, and you had a slave that was raped, you could attempt to prosecute the rapist for "property damage."

Since the 14th century, the term 'rape' has come to mean "to seize and take away by force". In Medieval English law the same term could refer to either kidnapping or rape in the modern sense of "sexual violation".

The original meaning of "carry off by force" is still found in some phrases, such as "rape and pillage", or in titles, such as Alexander Pope's poem "The Rape of the Lock," which is about the theft of a lock of hair.

There are more reported rapes in the US than the next 9 countries combined. On a per capita basis Australia tops the list.

1 in 33 American men have been the victims of an attempted or completed rape in their lifetime, according to the CDC.

Because of its prison system, the US is the only country in the world where more men are raped than women.

62 percent of Afghan women have experienced multiple forms of violence, including forced marriage and sexual violence.

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