Researchers often base their studies of the relationship between gender equality and rape on the claims of feminists. But feminists propose both a negative and positive relationship between these variables. This article summarizes theoretical differences between groups of feminists and uses gender equality indicators especially consistent with liberal feminists’ goals to examine the relationship in question with cross-national data. A positive relationship was found, not a negative one as the limited equality goals of liberal feminists lead one to expect. Also, similar to several previous studies, homicide and rape rates are positively associated as suggested by the subculture of violence thesis.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Amir, M. (1971). Patterns in forcible rape. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
2.
Avison, W. R.,& Loring, P. L. (1986). Population diversity and cross-national homicide: The effects of inequality and heterogeneity. Criminology, 24, 733-749.
3.
Baron, L., & Straus, M. (1984). Sexual stratification, pornography, and rape in the United States. In N. Malamuth & E. Donnerstein (Eds.), Pornography and sexual aggression(pp. 185-209). San Diego: Academic Press.
4.
Baron, L.,& Straus, M. (1987). Four theories of rape: Amacrosociological analysis. Social Problems, 34, 467-488.
5.
Baron, L.,& Straus, M. (1989). Four theories of rape in American society: A state-level analysis. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
6.
Baron, L., Straus, M., & Jaffee, D. (1988). Legitimate violence, violent attitudes, and rape. In R. A. Prentky & V. L. Quinsey (Eds.), Human sexual aggression: Current perspectives(pp. 79-110). New York: New York Academy of Sciences.
7.
Barry, K. (1979). Female sexual slavery. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
8.
Bennett, R., & Lynch, J. (1990). Does difference make a difference: Comparing cross-national crime indicators. Criminology, 8, 153-182.
9.
Brownmiller, S. (1975). Against our will: Men, women, and rape. New York: Simon & Schuster.
10.
Clinard, M., & Abbott, D. (1973). Crime in developing countries. New York: John Wiley.
11.
Cohen, L., & Felson, M. (1979). Social change and crime rate trends: A routine activities routine approach. American Sociological Review, 44, 588-608.
12.
Crowell, N.,& Burgess, A. (Eds.). (1996). Understanding violence against women. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
13.
Department of Justice. (1993). Criminal victimization 1992. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
14.
Dobash, R., & Dobash, R. (1992). Women, violence and social change. London: Routledge.
15.
Dworkin, A. (1979). Pornography: Men possessing women. New York: G. P. Putnam.
16.
Ellis, L., & Beattie, C. (1983). The feminist explanation for rape: An empirical test. Journal of Sex Research, 19, 74-93.
17.
Gottfredson, M., & Hirschi, T. (1990). A general theory of crime. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
18.
Griffin, S. (1971). The all-American crime. Ramparts, 10, 26-35.
19.
Groth, N. (1979). Men who rape: The psychology of the offender. New York: Plenum.
20.
Hanmer, J., Radford, J., & Stanko, E. (1989a). Improving policing for women: The way forward. In J. Hanmer, J. Radford,& E. Stanko (Eds.), Women, policing and male violence: International perspectives(pp. 185-201). London: Routledge.
21.
Hanmer, J., Radford, J.,& Stanko, E. (1989b). Policing men’s violence: Anintroduction. In J. Hanmer, J. Radford, & E. Stanko (Eds.), Women, policing and male violence: International perspectives(pp. 1-12). London: Routledge.
22.
Hindelang, M. (1978). Race and involvement in common lawpersonal crimes. American Sociological Review, 43, 93-109.
23.
Holmstrom, L.,& Burgess, A. (1989). Sexual behavior of assailants during reported rapes. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 9, 427-439.
24.
Huang, W. S. (1993). Are international murder data valid and reliable? Some evidence of support use of Interpol data. International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice, 17, 77-89.
25.
Interpol. (1995). International crime statistics for 1991 and 1992. Lyon, France: International Criminal Police Organization.
26.
Jagger, A. M. (1983). Feminist politics and human nature. Totowa, NJ: Rowman and Allanheld.
27.
Jagger, A. M. (1994). Sexual difference and sexual equality. In Living with contradictions: Controversies in feminist social ethics(pp. 18-27). Boulder, CO: Westview.
28.
Kalish, C. B. (1988). International crime rates. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
29.
Kennedy, L.,& Forde, D. (1990). Routine activities and crime: An analysis of victimization in Canada. Criminology, 28, 137-151.
30.
Kick, E., & LaFree, G. (1985). Development and the social context of murder and theft. Comparative Social Research, 8, 37-58.
31.
Koss, M., & Cleveland, H. H. (1997). Stepping on toes: Social roots of date rape lead to intractability and politicization. In M. D. Schwartz (Ed.), Research on violence against women(pp. 4-21). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
32.
Krohn, M.,& Wellford, C. (1977). Astatic and dynamic analysis of crime and the primary dimensions of nations. International Journal of Criminology and Penology, 5, 1-16.
33.
Loftin, C., & Hill, R. (1974). Regional subculture and homicide: An examination of the Gestit Hackney thesis. American Sociological Review, 39, 714-724.
34.
Lynch, J. P. (1987). Routine activity and victimization at work. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 3, 283-300.
35.
MacKinnon, C. (1984). Not a moral issue. Yale Law and Policy Review, 2, 321-345.
36.
MacKinnon, C. (1993). Feminism, Marxism, method and the state: Toward a feminist jurisprudence. In P. Bart& E. Moran (Eds.), Violence against women: The bloody footprints(pp. 201-227). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
37.
Matthews, N. A. (1994). Confronting rape: The feminist anti-rape movement and the state. London: Routledge.
38.
Maume, D. A. (1989). Inequality and metropolitan rape rates: A routine activity approach. Justice Quarterly, 6, 513-527.
39.
McConahay, S., & McConahay, J. (1977). Sexual permissiveness, sex-role rigidity, and violence across cultures. Journal of Social Issues, 33, 134-143.
40.
Messner, S. (1982). Poverty, inequality and the urban homicide rate. Criminology, 20, 103-114.
41.
Messner, S. (1983). Regional and racial effects on the urban homicide rate: The subculture of violence revisited. American Journal of Sociology, 88, 997-1007.
42.
Messner, S. (1989). Economic discrimination and societal homicide rates: Further evidence on the cost of inequality. American Sociological Review, 54, 597-611.
43.
Murdock, G. P., & White, D. R. (1969). Standard cross-cultural sample. Ethnology8, 329-369.
44.
Neuman, W. L., & Berger, R. J. (1988). Competing perspectives on cross-national crime: An evaluation of theory and evidence. Sociological Quarterly, 29, 281-313.
45.
Perkins, C., Klaus, P., Bastian, L., & Cohen, R. (1996). Criminal victimization in the United States 1993. Washington, DC: Department of Justice.
46.
Radford, J., & Stanko, E. (1996). Violence against women and children. The contradictions of crime control under patriarchy. In M. Hester, L. Kelly, & J. Radford (Eds.), Women, violence and male power(pp. 63-80). Philadelphia: Open University Press.
47.
Reiss, I. (1986). Journey into sexuality: An exploratory voyage. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
48.
Rowland, R., & Klein, R. D. (1991). Introduction. In S. Gunew (Ed.), A reader in feminist knowledge (pp. 305-311). London: Routledge.
49.
Russell, D. (1975). The politics of rape: The victim’s perspective. Briarcliff Manor, NY: Stein& Day.
50.
Russell, D. (1984). Sexual exploitation: Rape, child sexual abuse, and workplace harassment. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
51.
Russell, D. (1988). Pornography and rape: A causal model. Political Psychology, 9, 41-73.
52.
Sanday, P. R. (1981). The sociocultural context of rape: A cross-cultural study. Journal of Social Issues, 37, 5-27.
53.
Scarpitti, F., & Scarpitti, E. (1977). Victims of rape. Transaction, 14, 29-32.
54.
Scully, D., &Marolla, J. (1985). Riding the bull at Gilley’s: Convicted rapists describe the rewards of rape. Social Problems, 32, 251-263.
55.
Simpson, S. S. (1989). Feminist theory, crime, and justice. Criminology, 27, 605-631.
56.
Smith, M. D., &Bennett, N. (1985). Poverty, inequality, and theories of forcible rape. Crime and Delinquency, 31, 295-305.
57.
United Nations Democratic Yearbook. (1992). Demographic yearbook. New York: United Nations Publications.
58.
United Nations Development Program. (1994). Human development report 1994. New York: Oxford University Press.
59.
United Nations Statistical Yearbook. (1993). Statistical yearbook. New York: United Nations Publications.
60.
van Dijk, J.J.M., Mayhew, P., &Killias, M. (1990). Experiences of crime across the world. Deventer, the Netherlands: Kluwer Law and Taxation Publishers.
61.
Vigderhouse, A. (1978). Methodological problems confronting cross-cultural criminological research using official data. Human Relations, 3, 229-247.
