I see, so psychopaths rape people? They can be..... I mean, enjoying to kill and humiliate people is just wrong, very wrong.
It seems like it is more of a societal issue, than it is the victim's.. Although the clothing may and does play a role, no sane man would rape a woman because of a temptation.
And seeing that modest people get raped, and btw, I am not defending criminals with the excuse of "temptations". But it does play a factor.
reinstating the Death Penalty for rape - a Public Execution, may deter many criminals..............
I am still firm on that those who dress provocatively - are their own imprisoners.
What do you see as a factor that contributes towards rape?
Assalaamu alaikum Serenity,
Mmm... while psychopathy could be a form of disease that would bring a man to be more likely to rape, I do not think that rapists are always or even often psychopaths. I think the roots of the problem often lie more in male feelings of helplessness. No one likes to feel helpless and vulnerable, and one way that men who feel this way deal with their feelings of weakness is to try to assert power over another person, often a woman. Of course, it doesn't really help, as the underlying fear is still there. But it briefly gives a sense of powerfulness.
(smile) If you, Serenity, feel attracted to a woman, this does
not make you a potential rapist, you know. It means you're a healthy man. I do not at all believe that a normal sexually aroused man becomes a potential rapist, because hurting and humiliating a woman is
not part of a normal sexual response. Indeed, a healthy man is awash in a
nurturing hormone after sex. This causes
tender feelings and a desire to look after and protect the woman (incidentally, this hormone also causes tender feelings in mothers towards their children). But it seems to me that decent, healthy men are perhaps
afraid that they
might be potential rapists. And so, they seek ways to explain what might cause a man to rape. And feeling sexually aroused by a woman in clothes that are often designed (by the clothes manufacturers) to elicit a response in men... it seems like a natural explanation for what they fear they might (but actually
wouldn't) do.
But rape has
nothing to do with a normal sexual response. Allah Designed men and women to look after one another, He Endowed us with love and mercy for one another, both for our good, and for the good of our potential children. An emotionally and mentally healthy man would
not find it sexually or emotionally gratifying to hurt and humiliate a woman.
For me, the importance of how I dress has to do with
politeness. Knowing that God has Designed men to be sexually aroused by a woman's body, I take that into account. Just as it would be rude of me to waft chocolate cake under the nose of a friend I know is fasting and has a partiality to chocolate cake, I feel it would be rude of me to knowingly try to provoke a sexual response in a man other than my husband.
However, there is
one way in which a woman's dress might increase her likelihood of rape: and that is if it identifies her as being of a vulnerable group. A man who is seeking a woman to hurt in order to try to get rid of his own feelings of weakness is often essentially a coward. He will look for an easy target. A woman who is part of a marginalized group in society, is one that is less protected, and one whom the perpetrator is less likely to be held accountable for harming. This is why women of a minority or subjugated ethnic or social group are more at risk of rape and harm in general.
(sigh) So, for instance, in the context of being in a society that holds hostile feelings towards Muslims, a woman who dresses in a way that identifies her as Muslim, could actually be at an
increased risk of being assaulted. Is this her fault? No, of course not.
Dress is not the issue in rape. From what I can see, the social climate and certain mental or emotional pathologies (including a man's inappropriate ways of dealing with feelings of weakness) are the key problems.
May Allah, the Subtle, Help us to understand and to be just.