Predatory Nature of Sexually-Violent Offenders

We often use the phrase “sexual assault” to help expand the understanding that sexual offenses include more than the perpetrator forcing intercourse onto a victim. Yet in using this phrase, we may have inadvertently watered down the reality of frequency and danger of the calculated crimes of rape and those committing them.

 

It’s hard for people to realize that rapists actively seek out their victims – contrary to popular myths, it isn’t a deviant sexual impulse that primarily motivates a sexual predator. Sexual predators often have strong impulse control, and plan and stalk their victims in advance. (FBI research shows many serial rapists stalk several women at the same time, waiting for an opportunity to commit rape.)

 

Often the perpetrator spends time "setting up" the victim beforehand, so that a sexual assault may appear from the outside to be “normal” consensual sex and lead to discrediting any victim who might report the assault. This is what a sexual predator does: Seek out sexual contact with another in an abusive and predatory manner.

 

One study identified three distinct types of motivations of sexual predators:

  • The “power” rapist who seeks to control and dominate his victim.
  • The “anger” rapist who fueled by resentment and hostility towards women and is likely to inflict physical harm during the rape.
  • A few cases involved the “sadistic” rapist who gains sexual gratification by deliberately inflicting pain.

 

A consistent theme in what causes someone to become a rapist is child abuse. Sexual abuse, physical abuse, and neglect are all significantly more prevalent in the backgrounds of rapists than in the backgrounds of non-offenders, according to researchers.

 

One of the ways we can protect our community against sexual predators is to be familiar with how a sexual predator thinks and acts. Dr. David Lisak spent decades interviewing “undetected rapists” – and found they had perpetrated many more sexual assaults than the one they had been convicted of. In his paper “Understanding the Predatory Nature of Sexual Violence” he lists common characteristics of rapists, that they:

  • Identify their victims and test their boundaries.
  • Plan their attacks, using sophisticated strategies to groom their victims for attack, and to isolate them physically.
  • Exhibit strong impulse control and use only as much violence as is needed to terrify and coerce their victims into submission.
  • Almost never use guns or knives, preferring psychological weapons such as power, control, manipulation, and threats.
  • Frequently use alcohol to render victims more vulnerable to attack, or completely unconscious.

 

So, how do we go forward toward ending sexual violence? A strong first step is to believe victims when they come forward. An estimated 75% of rapes go unreported – fears of not being believed often stops victims from coming forward. A second is to recognize the percentage of good men is far greater than the few who repeatedly commit the majority of violence – be vocal and encourage good men in our lives to step forward in ending sexual violence.

 

If you or someone you know is the victim of sexual assault, call CAV’s confidential 24-hour helpline at (575)758-9888 for support and information.

 

It can be hard to figure out whether a person’s intentions are truthful and healthy, or predatory. The best way is to trust your instincts. If you feel uncomfortable in the relationship – if you feel controlled, manipulated, powerless, and ridiculed, and have little say in how the relationship evolves, then you are in an unhealthy situation.

 

Malinda Williams is the executive director of Community Against Violence (CAV) which offers FREE confidential support and assistance for child and adult survivors of sexual and domestic violence, dating violence, stalking, and child and elder abuse; community and school violence prevention programs; re-education groups for people using power and control in their relationships; counseling; shelter; transitional housing; and community thrift store. To talk or get information on services, call CAV’s 24-hour Helpline at 575-758-9888. TaosCAV.org