Acquaintance Rape: A Misrepresentation that a Rape isn’t a ‘True Rape’

Rape is slowly becoming a part of our society. Due to modernization, the thinking of people is becoming either broader or narrower, no in between. Some people take it as an invite for sexual activity leading it to rape. Modernization or adoption of western culture is affecting our own Indian culture. In our male dominating society, where women is trying hard for their equal status and standards, somewhere is held responsible for such wrongful acts, but where a rape is done by a known person, be it a lover, a friend, a colleague, a classmate, spouse, or any other person who’s an acquaintance to a woman, how can that rape cannot be called as ‘true rape’? A rape is a rape whether caused by an unknown person or a known person. Anything done sexually to a woman without her consent is referred to as rape. In today’s techno life, where everything is online and socially connected to each other, it has become a lot easier to track the movements of a person. Acquaintance rape is also refer to as ‘Date Rape’ or ‘Dating Violence’, where a couple is in a romantic or intimate relationship, and one of the partners forces the other for sexual activity. But some make excuse out of it as it was done under the effect of intoxication, high drug dose or unconsciousness of the person.3 These date rapes are generally done in view of revenge from their former partner for being with someone else. This is very common among the people of age 18-28 years. The Indian Penal Code, 1860 provides the punishment for rape.