Abstract
In Jody Raphael’s compelling book, Rape Is Rape: How Denial, Distortion, and Victim Blaming Are Fueling a Hidden Acquaintance Rape Crisis, the author seeks to unpack the arguments of those who minimize or deny acquaintance rape as legitimate rape, challenge commonplace beliefs about how acquaintance rape occurs, underscore the deleterious effects of rape and rape denial, draw our attention to important gaps in systems and institutions that perpetuate victim blaming, and offer suggestions for change. Organized in ten chapters, each chapter offers a detailed discussion along with case narratives that give voice to women who have been victim to rape, juxtaposing their stories against proffered statistics, research, and conversations regarding rape. Case narratives describe the circumstances of the victim’s/survivor’s rape, reactions of those around them, the effects of the rape, and victims’ attempts to make sense of and move past their experience.
Rape Is Rape begins with a summary of recent political, legal, and social discourse on rape—or, more specifically, acquaintance rape—drawing on some well-known and highly publicized cases including those of Julian Assange and Dominique Strauss-Kahn. Raphael directs the reader to explicit and implicit statements made by various media outlets and politicians that blame victims or question whether a rape occurred. Raphael then describes the distortion of (and history behind the distortion of) rape statistics, tying it to multiple political and social agendas and frameworks. Raphael explicates conservative and liberal perspectives on acquaintance rape as well as differing views among feminist groups, some of whom mistakenly assume rape as part and parcel of sexual freedom and liberation (i.e., as an inherent risk of liberation). Raphael also highlights past studies with methodological challenges that have been repeatedly used to discredit acquaintance rape as a problem, ignoring more recent, sound data. As a result, she explains, acquaintance rape is not treated with the same gravity as stranger rape, placing the burden of proof and blame on the victim, rather than on the perpetrator, which does not occur with other crimes.
In later chapters, Raphael provides detailed information on recent efforts to capture accurate prevalence and incidence rates of acquaintance rape. For example, we learn that among women in the United States, lifetime reports of rape consistently fall between 10 and 16 percent. Raphael also clarifies the difference between unfounded and false rape reports, which are often conflated and used by rape deniers to undermine reports of rape. Consequently, we see how the conflation and distortion of statistics have led to victims bearing the burden of proof in criminal cases.
In the final chapters of Rape Is Rape, Raphael returns the reader to the Strauss-Kahn case, introduced in the opening of the book, and details its treatment by the media and various political parties. Raphael uses the Strauss-Kahn case to highlight the oft-used rhetoric in acquaintance rape cases: victims have hidden agendas, such as personal or political gain or are upset about having had (consensual) sex or about the quality of the (consensual) sex received. Raphael also explains the different forms of rape denial (indifference, disbelief, and punishment), its effects on victims, and challenges in existing systems (e.g., hospitals that collect rape-kits) designed to help rape victims. The final chapter then moves to providing recommendations to colleges/universities, hospitals processing rapes, judicial systems, media, and police about how to better respond to acquaintance rape allegations.
Confronting the problem of acquaintance rape denial and distortion, Raphael successfully achieves her goal to unpack the complicated issues surrounding acquaintance rape as a longstanding and widespread problem. Raphael makes careful use of credible statistics, case narratives, and social/political discourse, which grounds the reader in both the research and reality of acquaintance rape dynamics and treatment. However, Rape Is Rape would have benefited from offering information about whether and where successes and improvements have been made to address acquaintance rape, which may be used as models. Additionally, though it is clear why (and certainly necessary that) Raphael uses case examples, there are sections so overwhelmed with examples that the message of the chapter gets lost. Furthermore, while a valuable educational tool, the graphic nature of the examples in the book may make it unsuitable for those with limited experience in the field of violence against women, persons sensitive to the subject matter, and those with previous sexual trauma. Nonetheless, Rape Is Rape is a powerful book that would be useful for students and faculty engaged in clinical and research work on sexual violence and those in policy, law, health, social work, and psychology.