Skip to main content

POLICY AND PRACTICE REVIEWS article

Front. Sociol.
Sec. Gender, Sex and Sexualities
Volume 9 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fsoc.2024.1487451

Guardians of Consent: Enhancing Rape Prevention through Social Control Mechanisms

Provisionally accepted
  • 1 All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Deoghar (AIIMS Deoghar), Deoghar, India
  • 2 Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, Haryana, India

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Rape is a severe violation involving non-consensual sexual acts, often accompanied by force, threats, or coercion, leading to profound physical, emotional, and social consequences for survivors. Aim: This review aims to examine and synthesize research on effective strategies for rape prevention and intervention, with a particular focus on social control mechanisms, legal frameworks, cultural change, educational programs, public awareness campaigns, community vigilance, victim support services, and the influence of digital media.The global and national burden of rape is substantial, with significant prevalence differences influenced by cultural, socio-economic, and legal factors. Effective prevention of rape necessitates a multifaceted approach that includes stringent legal frameworks, comprehensive education on consent, public awareness campaigns, social control, and community vigilance. Discussion: Social control plays a critical role in these prevention strategies, encompassing both formal mechanisms like legal sanctions and informal controls such as societal norms and cultural attitudes. Challenges to these efforts include persistent rape myths, victim-blaming, inconsistent legal definitions of consent, and the evolving complexities of digital media. However, global examples such as Sweden's consent-based legal reforms and the UK's cultural shift through public campaigns demonstrate that these challenges can be addressed effectively. National efforts, including the "It's On Us" campaign in the United States and legal reforms in India, further highlight the importance of tailored interventions to address specific contextual challenges. Conclusion: Ultimately, overcoming these challenges requires an integrated strategy that combines legal reforms, educational initiatives, cultural change, and robust support systems for survivors. By learning from successful global and national models, societies can build more effective frameworks for preventing rape and ensuring justice for those affected.

    Keywords: Sexual offence, Rape, Victim, Social control, Rape prevention and control

    Received: 28 Aug 2024; Accepted: 06 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Bhattacharya and Singh. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Sudip Bhattacharya, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Deoghar (AIIMS Deoghar), Deoghar, India

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.