You can quite easily build a development arc for this character when it comes to her relationship with the father. She could hate his guts, but then get to know him, and realize he made a mistake she can never forgive, but she can at least feel something like pity towards him instead of pure rage and contempt. She might embark on a quest to find out what really happened, how this seemingly decent guy could so something like that, and hope he would've changed, but then it turns out he is a complete monster. Your character can also behave in ways that seem wrong to the reader, as long as you as the author know what you're saying, if this makes any sense at all.
The thing is it's because rape is a crime to be punished, I mentioned only the folks who HAVEN'T done it yet but worry they may do it themselves. As for why she would open one, the OP was saying that the MC wasn't looking for revenge and instead wanted a different path, so I simply suggested the second thing to come to mind (the first was chemical castration ). I personally would've gone down a revenge path with the story, even if it's something as simple as knocking the guy out. The MC could also come up with anti-rape tools/items (there was one introduced in Africa but not legalized in the states, something quite painful to guys that would require surgical removal). (also, the whole 'did the victim deserve it?' in regards to murder thing actually did happen. There's a video I saw on youtube of a guy who pulls a rifle in a courtroom as the guy who molested his son is walking by and kills him, he gets off with probation (awesome judge is awesome ))
Thank you chicagoliz. I am trying hard to develop my characters. And yes the process involves a lot of research which is taking me to a lot of places unknown to me. I am talking to psychologists and sociologists and reading a lot. This forum is also contributing a lot in my research. Regarding rape, it seems to me now that it is more a gender violence which is aggravated by the social concepts about gender, about masculinity, about femininity, about what it is to be a strong man or a strong boy, what women’s role and position in society are. My story plays out in India where it remains a strange society as far as issues of sex and gender are concerned. It is the land of Kama Sutra and it is here you can see the erotic temple sculptures at Khajuraho, Konark and at other places. So it can be concluded that sex was never a taboo in India in early ages. But in the 21st century we see a strange phenomenon. Indians who rule Silicon Valley and such places in all spheres of life shy away when it comes to sex. India is a very — and this is generalizing over 1.2 billion people, but in general I think it’s fair to say that it’s a very puritanical society even today. People generally are not comfortable talking about sexuality or reproductive rights or issues like menstruation or sexual desire, even within the family, let alone within the classroom or the workplace. These issues are swept under the carpet. As a result, there’s an enormous amount of ignorance and denial. On one hand we worship the Devi or the mother goddess and on the other hand we deny her a proper position in society. Strange dichotomy of a self-defeating behavior. These are the areas that I want to explore in my story. I believe the scenario is not different in other societies. Talking in this forum gives me the chance to get the inputs from different societies. The issue of rape cannot be understood with "black-and-white" thinking. The shades in between are the areas to be explored. A difficult task that I have chosen for myself. But I have to succeed. Enlighten me friends.
I would say that rape emphatically black and white at least in the sense that it's wrong, just plain wrong. There is no rape for self defense, as killing someone can be for self defense. There is no rape to feed your children, as stealing may be done to feed your children. It's just wrong. Edited to add: And I don't accept the idea that rape is about puritanism and sex being taboo. I think that it's about a lack of consequences for the crime. Let's analogize with racism, specifically the kind that motivates people to deny products and services to other races. We could say that racism comes from an innate need to feel superior to someone. We could say that we need to find a way to make the racists feel better, to raise their self esteem. Rehab clinics. Feel-good programs. We could say that the only way to fix racism is to help the racists so that they no longer want to be racist. Or we could say that the racists *will* provide prducts and services to all races, or they will go out of business. We don't coddle their poor little feelings; instead, we apply consequences. Similarly, we could say that theft is about a lack of resources and money--and that would be to a fair extent true. But do we try to cure theft by making people feel better about their lot in life? No, we try to cure it by treating it as a crime and prosecuting it. The solution to rape is to treat it as a crime and prosecute it. We don't do that. Oh, sure, we pretend to do it, but the statistics seem to make it pretty clear that it's a token pretense. The solution to rape is not to convince people that they no longer want to do it, and to respect their decision to continue doing it while they're thinking about it. The solution to rape is to reliably punish it as a crime.
I have a character that is the product of incestual rape. It took forever for me to figure out WHY her mother was so abusive. All I knew was that she spent A LOT of time with the little boy down the street because his mother treated her kindly. For her, I haven't figured out how she will respond. It's shaped her upbringing, it has perpetuated a cycle of choosing abusive partners, and eventually she will need to find healing, but it won't happen until she is an adult and the little boy (now grown as well) re-enters her life. Her relationship with her mother is forever tainted, but it has set up a cycle of addiction (as mom dealt with her guilt via the bottle) she will struggle to get out of for years. The thing is, unless it has definitive connections with plot or character development...it doesn't matter. And if avenging her mother isn't an option, why isn't it?
Since you ask to be enlightened, don't later say you didn't actually want to talk about this as an issue So, I understand your context as much as I can, not belonging to your society, but as you said, the maltreatment of women as objects rather than real people equal in value and worth to any other, is an universal issue. Also, the specific paradox of the Goddess worship juxtaposed to throwing acid in girl's faces and worse, that exists in India, is heavily quoted and explored in most feminist discussions about rape. However, after thinking about this long and hard (I have a background in Forensic Psychiatry and I read both foreign studies as well as seen patients from different backgrounds) my only conclusion is that whatever framework you have, rapists work within it. Males are competitive and one of their instincts is to reproduce. When for whatever reason a male is unsuccessful, not every male but some males, will resort to rape. Whether they'll admit to themselves it's rape or not, whether they'll relish the violence involved or will they try to minimise and pretend it's consensual, depends on their personality, and accordingly, the type of rape will betray their motivation. This is where the criminology and victimology comes in. Rape is a violent crime, it isn't a 'phenomenon'. Every male knew he was hurting weaker then themselves when they were hitting or raping a woman, their empathy was replaced by cruelty and aggression. You can't get away from that by burying your head in 'puritanical society' context, it's not an excuse in the slightest. Rape is punished severely in many animal species, so it isn't a healthy or beneficial impulse by any stretch of imagination. Sex and aggression are connected in all men's brain's, in some more than others. We don't quite know why this is. However, this doesn't mean it's ok to rape. Civilised society imposed a lot of restrictions on base impulses, why is the rape the only remaining base impulse that is 'tolerated' (usually by men, which is a conflict of interest). Some males are inadequate and as such can't score the women they want, or the response they want. There are several different psychological types of rapists. Regardless of the culture and the rape, the perpetrator(s) fits one of the categories. I suggest you do some research in this area if you want to even begin to understand this issue. It's all nice and well, philosophising about the context, but these criminals are seen in all contexts, and their psychology is remarkably similar, so that cannot be discounted. ps. Here's a pretty good overview, clearly explained http://harfordmedlegal.typepad.com/forensics_talk/2006/09/profiling_rapis.html
Thanks a ton jazzabel for opening new vistas into my thinking. The blog was very concise and clear. Now I can try to put my character into one of these profiles. The article also will help me in deciding on the reaction of the perpetrator when he is confronted with his crime. Lots and lot to read now. Thanks again.
Best of luck @Kalyan Banerjee. Keep in mind that the types are broad, and individuals can appear to cross types, so the descriptions are just a guideline.
The more complex the type the better for the story although it gets a tad difficult to untangle the ends sometimes. I bought this book too. http://www.flipkart.com/men-rape-english/p/itmczzps2gcvzmme?pid=9780738206240&otracker=from-search&srno=t_1&query=+Men+Who+Rape+%28English%29+Author%3A+A.+Nicholas+Groth&ref=819d93b9-a62d-47b0-90d3-e3f34d4bd3ea
The book looks like a good reference. It's difficult sometimes to get a full sense without meeting those people and speaking with them, reading about specifics of what they've done, connecting all the dots you learned in theory, but these kinds of books are the next best thing. You can always post questions here, I'll be happy to give my two cents worth on whether the character makes sense, as will others I'm sure
I have started reading the book. Oh my God! It is like delving deep into the Rapists' mind. There are long interviews. Reading those are like reading horror stories, only the events were real. I couldn't sleep last night.
It is a traumatising topic. Most people can't face the realities of it, which is why rape is still a taboo. You don't have to have the nastiest of all rapists as your character, but I feel that all fictional works that explored rape well, did so with awareness of the realities of the crime. Don't lose too much sleep over it, though, that's not healthy either.
Finished the book and also some similar materials from the net. All these essays are written from a clinical perspective in which the rape is understood to be a reaction to a psychological crisis and thus, in a dynamic sense, a symptom equivalent. These have examined the psychological and emotional factors that predispose a person to react to situational and life events with sexual violence. That is fine. But does not the society have any contribution to the factors influencing the rapist? I need to look for that. What if we want to prevent rape from happening? What can be the society's contribution to that effect? As long as man lives, psychological and emotional crisis will remain. Other than treating the rapists after they have committed the crime, what can we do to create a society in which no one will want to rape. Punishments do not act as deterrents as we have seen all over the world. What are your takes on this? jazzabel... you have a background in Forensic Psychiatry. Can you provide me with a sample counseling of a rape victim? The actual way one should talk to the victim. Thanks in advance.
There are many essays on patriarchy and it's effect on notions of masculinity and femininity, which explore the ongoing effects of the situation we had before women won their right to equal status (in theory, we are still working on it in practice). Thousands of years of oppression don't vanish in a few generations, not from a woman's psyche, not from man's and certainly not from the society and its institutions. Have a look at @T.Trian's blog titled 'The Female Gaze' and check out the comments. We discussed a lot there. Also, there's an excellent book on sexual coercion in humans as well as primates, I'll find a link then post it here. Also, if you read more about the rapists personal lives, you can get the picture on the kind of upbringing and stressors they've been exposed to, although sometimes it's not that obvious. Otherwise, pay attention how victims of rape are treated by the media. Read comments underneath articles to see what ordinary men think, you might be shocked by the nastiness, though. Turn on the tv and see how often women are portrayed as 'eye-candy', 'love-interest' or simply sex objects, and how often they are strong and independent. Trauma counselling is a specific field, but due to extreme prevalence of rape crime, a lot of women (and a few men) who seek counselling for variety of reasons, happen to have been raped too. Also both genders not infrequently reveal they've been abused as children. In some psychiatric populations almost all patients have some personal experience with sexual abuse. I can't convey to you a skill that takes many years to master in one comment. Every patient is different, there are many approaches to rape counselling, as well as counselling someone who's been raped. But what you don't want to do is to traumatise them further, so gentle inquiry is ok, but at patient's pace. Listen more than talk. And always consider their safety as a primary concern, physical as well as psychological. Anniversary of rape is usually very tough, and people can start experiencing intense post-traumatic symptoms some weeks before and some weeks after. Women who were raped decades ago, still experience this even if post-traumatic symptoms for the rest of the year are insignificant. Many rape victims have chronically disturbed sleep with nightmares, they might experience intimacy issues, sex problems, problems trusting people, eating disorders, psychiatric or physical stress-related illness, social anxiety, they might have some issues remembering to self-care, etc. All these if identified take priority, and they can be worked on without referring to rape directly (sometimes victims have great difficulty talking about it). Lots of relevant things, you can ask me more specific questions if you want, I'm always happy to help.
