Although acquaintance rape is a problem among women of all ages, it is especially prevalent among college women, because they are in the same age range as the bulk of rape victims and offenders. Most victims are between the ages of sixteen and twenty-four. Of the arrested rapists 45% are under the age of twenty-five. Unfortunately, the rape report rate for this crime on campuses is only 6%.

The reason the report rate is so low is that in an acquaintance rape situation, the victim knows her attacker. This knowledge may in fact encourage her, and others, to attribute more

My friend Maria had been dating Benny for a year. She had decided not to have sex until she was married. Benny and Maria started having problems in their relationship. He was always pressuring her to have sex, she held fast to her decision. He became increasingly jealous and violent, accusing her of wanting other men, throwing things at her. She met with him one night to break it off. Benny wouldn't take no for an answer this time, he raped her. Because she thought she had loved him, and because she felt that maybe she was at fault and had lead him to it, pushing him over the edge by breaking up with him, she never reported the rape. She told me later, "How can you be raped by your boyfriend, who would believe me about something like that? I know he's sorry he did it. He just wanted to hold on so bad, and I just wouldn't let him. I think I went to far and maybe I am partly to blame."

There are three kinds of acquaintance rape relevant to a date rape situation: beginning, early, and relational rape. They are described both in terms of length of the relationship and previous sexual activity. It is important to remember that just because a couple previously had intercourse does not mean that sex is always consented. It has been determined that 30% of raped college women were raped by their boyfriends, while 21% were raped early in the relationship. Strangers, nonromantic acquaintances, and husbands accounted for the other 49%.

Another reason a male may become aggressive is because he holds traditional sex-role attitudes. He believes that the man should decide whether or not to have intercourse, especially if he pays for and initiates the date. Along these lines is the need for a man to prove his manhood to himself and to his peers. This is particularly true with men in fraternities. Research with a college population showed that men in fraternities admit a greater use of verbal coercion, alcohol, and mild physical force to obtain sex than independent college men. The man gains support for his attitudes and keeps them. A chilling example of this is a scene in the movie the "The Accused". In it, Jodie Foster is at a bar, wearing a short skirt, no bra, drinking, dancing, and wanting to party. Suddenly the scene shifts and you become witness to a brutal, horrifying rape scene where she is held down on a pinball machine and viciously and repeatedly raped by 3 men as a crowd of men hoot, holler, and cheer them on. This isn't just a scene from a movie, it's based on fact and it isn't an isolated incident.

Some common words found in the essay are:
, Jodie Foster, Benny Maria, acquaintance rape, college women, rape myths, rape myths statements, believe victim, date rape, cause rape, report rate, miscommunication rape, rape myth, scene movie,
Approximate Word count = 1724
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)