Rape

Rape is a form of sexual assault that involves sexual intercourse or other sexual penetration performed without a person's consent. This act can involve physical force, coercion, or the abuse of authority. It can also occur when the victim is unable to give valid consent—for example, if they are unconscious, incapacitated, have an intellectual disability, or are below the legal age of consent (known as statutory rape). The harm of rape is not only about physical violence but also an attack on the victim’s very personhood. The term rape is sometimes used interchangeably with sexual assault.

Reporting, prosecution, and conviction rates for rape differ across jurisdictions. In 2008, police-recorded rape rates per 100,000 people ranged from 0.2 in Azerbaijan to 92.9 in Botswana, with a median of 6.3 in Lithuania. Worldwide, reported sexual violence, including rape, is mostly committed by males against females. Rape by strangers is generally less common than rape by someone the victim knows. Male-on-male prison rape is common and may be the least reported form of rape.

Widespread and systematic rape, such as war rape, and sexual slavery can occur during international conflicts. These acts are considered crimes against humanity and war crimes. Rape is also recognized as an element of the crime of genocide when committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a targeted ethnic group.

People who have been raped can experience trauma and develop post-traumatic stress disorder. Serious injuries and the risk of sexually transmitted infections can result. Female victims also face the risk of pregnancy. A victim may face violence or threats from the rapist, and sometimes from their own family and relatives.

**Etymology**

The word rape comes from the Latin *rapere* (supine stem *raptum*), meaning "to snatch, to grab, to carry off." In Roman law, the forcible carrying off of a woman, with or without intercourse, was called *raptus*. 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" still appears in phrases like "rape and pillage," or in titles such as the *Rape of the Sabine Women*, *The Rape of Europa*, and the poem *The Rape of the Lock*, which is about the theft of a lock of hair.

**Definitions**

**General**

Most jurisdictions define rape as sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration committed without the victim’s consent. Definitions vary among governmental health organizations, law enforcement, health providers, and legal professions, and have changed over time and across cultures. Originally, rape had no sexual meaning and is still used in other contexts in English. In Roman law, *raptus* was a form of *crimen vis* (crime of assault) and referred to the abduction of a woman against the will of the man under whose authority she lived; sexual intercourse was not required. Other definitions have shifted. The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia considered rape a crime requiring coercion, force, or threat of force against the victim or a third person.

Until 2012, the FBI defined rape as a crime committed only by men against women. That year, it changed its definition from "The carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will" to "The penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim." The updated definition still excluded a man being forced to penetrate a woman, which is generally the academic definition of rape. However, it recognized any gender of victim and perpetrator and that rape with an object can be as traumatic as penile or vaginal rape. The FBI also describes instances when a victim cannot give consent due to mental or physical incapacity, including incapacitation by drugs or alcohol. This definition does not change federal or state criminal codes or affect charging and prosecution; it is meant to improve nationwide reporting accuracy.

Health organizations have also expanded definitions. The World Health Organization defines rape as a form of sexual assault, while the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention includes rape in its definition of sexual assault and calls rape a form of sexual violence. The CDC lists other coercive, non-consensual sexual acts that may or may not include rape, such as drug-facilitated sexual assault, acts where a victim is made to penetrate a perpetrator or someone else, intoxication where the victim cannot consent, non-physically forced penetration through verbal pressure (by intimidation or misuse of authority), and completed or attempted forced penetration using unwanted physical force (including weapons or threats). The Veterans Health Administration has implemented universal screening for "military sexual trauma" (MST) and provides free medical and mental health services to enrolled veterans who report MST (Title 38 United States Code 1720D; Public Law 108–422).

Some countries or jurisdictions differentiate between rape and sexual assault by defining rape as involving penile penetration of the vagina, or solely penetration involving the penis.