I think some of what is being debated is based on myths about rape and sexual assault:
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Myth 1: The viewing of pornography leads to increased sexual assaults and rape.
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There is little/no evidence that conclusively links the viewing of pornography to rape. Below is evidence, I can provide references if you would like:
- ** United States **: It was shown that, as far as could be determined by a
Commission appointed by U. S. President Lyndon B. Johnson (Pornography,
1970), ** no such relationship of pornography leading to rape or sexual
assault could be demonstrated as applicable for adults or juveniles ** . Subsequent nation-wide studies in the United States also seemed to find no strong evidence that rape rates were associated with the availability of pornographic magazines (Baron and Straus, 1987) or adult theatres in a community (Scott and Schwalm, 1988; Winick & Evans, 1996).
- ** Britain ** : In Britain, the British (Williams) Committee on Obscenity and Film Censorship, in 1979 reported (Home Office, 1979): ** “From everything we know of social attitudes, and have learnt in the course of our enquires, our belief can only be that the role of pornography in influencing the state of society is a minor one ** . To think anything else . . . is to get the problem of pornography out of proportion (p. 95).”
- ** Canada ** : A review report by McKay and Dolff (1984) for the Department of Justice of Canada essentially says similarly: ** “There is no systematic research evidence available which suggests a causal relationship between pornography and the morality of Canadian society . . . [and none] which suggests that increases in specific forms of deviant behavior, reflected in crime trend statistics (e.g., rape) are causally related to pornography.” **
- ** Denmark, West Germany and Sweden ** : For these countries, Kutchinsky (1985a, 1991) showed that ** as the amount of pornography increasingly became available, the rate of rapes in these countries either decreased or remained relatively level ** .
Myth 2: Women who dress less modestly are more likely to be raped.
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There is little correlation between ones physical dress/attractiveness and the likelihood of becoming a victim of rape. ** Rape is not about sex, it is about power and control ** . Rapists who pry on children, rape for the same reason that they rape adults. Children do not dress scantily – yet they are still raped. Women are raped for the same reasons – its about power and control not sex. Even in Iran, where women dress in full hijab, there are cases of rape.
To give you another example, look at the rape of women with disabilities. The figures for these women are highest, one Canadian study indicates that ** 83% of women with disabilities will be sexually assaulted during their lifetime . Its not because of the way they are dressed ** . In fact to believe that a woman “deserves” to be raped because of the way she is dressed is like saying a wealthy-looking man “deserves” to be robbed. No matter how a woman is dressed, she should not be violated.
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Myth 3: Rapists are social outcasts and do not come from normal walks of life.
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Men who sexually assault are not mentally ill or sexually starved. ** Studies on the profiles of rapists reveal that they are “ordinary” and “normal” men who sexually assault women in order to assert power and control over them. **
Men who commit sexual assault ** come from every economic, ethnic, racial, age and social group **. Men who commit sexual assault can be the doctors, teachers, employers, co-workers, lawyers, husbands, or relatives of the women they assault.
** Women face the greatest risk of sexual assault from men they know, not strangers ** . In Canada, of the women who are sexually assaulted, most (69%) are sexually assaulted by men known to them dates, boyfriends, marital partners, friends, family members or neighbours. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) in the US, a woman is twice as likely to be attacked by a stranger than by someone she knows. However, sexual assault by an acquaintance is a largely unreported occurrence.
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Myth 4: Women who leave the house and frequent public places are more likely to be raped.
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The fact is that ** rape occurs in a variety of places and situations during any hour of the day or night. The majority of rape occur in or near a victim’s home **, and there are incidences of rape in offices, schools, and other work locations.
In Canada, most sexual assaults (60%) occur in a private home and the largest percentage of these (38%) occur in the victim’s home. The idea that most sexual assaults fit the ‘stranger-in-a-dark-alley’ stereotype can lead to a false sense of security.
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Myth 5: Sexual Assaults are widely reported in both the western world and in Pakistan.
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According to Statistics Canada, ** only 6% of all sexual assaults are reported to police ** . Only 1% of women who have been sexually assaulted by an acquaintance report the incident to police. I’m sure reporting in Pakistan is similar.
Achtung
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