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Rape schedule is a concept in feminist theory used to describe the notion that women are conditioned to place restrictions on and/or make alterations to their daily lifestyles and behaviours as a result of constant fear of sexual assault. These altered behaviours may occur consciously or unconsciously.
The concept has since been cited and discussed by feminist scholars across disciplines, including criminologist Jody Miller, lawyer Catharine MacKinnon, and philosopher Susan Griffin. These individuals have speculated on the impact of rape schedule on women's freedom, access to rights, relationships with others, and self worth.Catharine A MacKinnon, Sex Equality, Foundation Press (2007) 339Stephen R. Gold's review of: Sex, Power, Conflict: Evolutionary and Feminist Perspectives, Edited by David M. Buss and Neil M. Malamuth. Oxford University, Press, New York, 1996 as cited in 'Theories of Rape' http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/vaw00/theories_of_rape.html.
These statistics are also influenced by sexuality:
Age also influences rates of sexual assault. For example, when compared with the overall national average for women, women aged 18–24 who are college students are three times as likely to be victims of sexual assault; women in the same age group that are not attending college are four times as likely to experience sexual assault.
Rape is one of the most underreported crimes in America.
Examples of privilege can be found through the lenses of:
These lenses of privilege can be applied in considering the use of rape schedule. For example, Jody Miller has explained that prostitutes cannot adhere to a rape schedule as it would leave them 'unable to work' – adhering to a rape schedule in this manner could be seen to be 'born of privilege'.Jody Miller, "Researching Violence Against Street Prostitutes: Issues of Epistemology, Methodology, and Ethics" in Researching Sexual Violence Against Women: Methodological and Personal Perspectives (Martin D. Schwartz ed., 1997). 144, 150.
Rape can lead to mental health disorders, such as PTSD, and statistical evidence demonstrates this trend. According to Dean G. Kilpatrick, from the National Violence Against Women Prevention Research Center, 31% of all rape victims develop some form of PTSD at some point in their lifetime and those who were victims of rape were "6.2 times more likely to develop PTSD than women who had never been victims of crime". Victims were also three times more likely than those who had not been sexual assaulted to experience a major depressive episode, 13.4 times more likely to have two or more major alcohol problems, and 26 times more likely to have two or more serious drug abuse problems.
Because of these severe incidents, women develop rape schedules to help them try to avoid the possibility of rape occurring in the future. As a result of these fear-based rape schedules, women can be left feeling powerless, which can have an extremely debilitating impact on women's self-worth.
In an informal survey mentioned by Mary Dickson in her article, "A Woman's Worst Nightmare", many men reported that they do not feel fear when walking down the street. A man stated "as a man, I'm afraid of very little." However, in that same survey, women listed numerous things they feared. One female responded, "I'm always afraid in a situation where there's somebody that could overpower me easily. I lock my doors, park in lighted areas, don't run in dark areas." This informal survey suggests that especially in these particular situations, women feel a great deal more vulnerable than men.
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