Reasons given for rape varied. More than 70 percent said they wanted "sexual entitlement," half did it for entertainment, while others said it was done in anger, for punishment or under the influence of alcohol.
Source/Credit: The Standard | Hong Kong
By Beatrice Siu / agencies | September 11, 2013
A shock United Nations survey of 10,000 men found that almost half reported physical or sexual violence against an intimate partner.
One in four assaulted their wives or partners, while one in 10 admitted to forcing themselves on other women.
And more than 72 percent of those who committed rape faced no legal consequences. The figure was even higher for marital rape.
Hong Kong was not included in the UN survey but police said there was an alarming increase in rape cases last year.
But a university professor challenged the UN figures, saying people would not normally admit to rape and those filling in questionnaires tend to exaggerate.
Rape and marital rape varied across the six countries surveyed: Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Papua New Guinea. It was highest in Papua New Guinea where 80 percent of men reported using sexual or physical violence against a partner, and 62 percent said they had raped a woman or a girl.
Reasons given for rape varied. More than 70 percent said they wanted "sexual entitlement," half did it for entertainment, while others said it was done in anger, for punishment or under the influence of alcohol.
Emotional abuse in childhood was cited by 50 percent in Sri Lanka and 86 percent in Papua New Guinea. Just 6 percent of respondents in rural Indonesia and 37 percent of men in Bangladesh had experienced sexual abuse before the age of 18.
Adults who suffered abuse as children were found to have higher rates of depression and poorer health, and were more likely to join gangs, be involved in fights and abuse drugs or alcohol.
Men who used violence against women were more likely to have had many sexual partners and to have paid for sex. "We hope to see this new knowledge used for more informed programs and policies to end violence against women," said one of the report's authors Emma Fulu.
Hong Kong police said 59 cases of rape were reported in the first half of this year compared with 60 in the same period last year.
There were 105 rape cases in 2008, 136 in 2009, 112 in 2010 and 91 in 2011. The number rose to 121 cases last year.
Scholars fear the upward trend could continue. Hong Kong University's Department of Social Work and Social Administration associate professor Eric Chui Wing-hong said: "The high rate in developing countries like Cambodia is not surprising as their legal system and legislation is not as explicit as in developed countries. People have a very vague concept of fairness with regard to women."
But he doubted the figures cited in the survey. "People do not answer such sensitive questions when they are asked face to face and they may exaggerate if asked to fill in questionnaires.
"So I wonder how these figures were obtained."
He also doubted that China would have such a high rate of 22.2 percent.
"The rate could be higher in rural areas because people live in big families. But rapists are severely punished in China. I doubt if the rate is as high as mentioned."
City University's Department of Applied Social Studies professor Dennis Wong Sing-wing said he expected the number of reported cases in Hong Kong to rise and that the perpetrators would be mostly friends or even ex-lovers.
"In general, rapists are dissatisfied with their lives and have no sense of success," he said. "Some have a strong sense of possession which shows a lack of respect for women."
Read original post here: Rape survey shock
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