Rape: Breaking the Culture of Silence

Abstract

Nepal is one of the South Asian country which have many social and cultural condition that leads to rape such as high rates of illiteracy and unemployment, poor economy condition, masculinity power, sexual frustration and so on. Further, institutional organizations such as school and colleges pays less attention and rarely try to bring this topic into discussion. Sometimes, the victims are even forced to marry the rapist in order to handle the situation. The purpose of this study is to educate adolescents about their sex rights, explore different myths regarding rape and encourage youth to raise voice against any kind of sexual violence. This research is based on both qualitative and quantitative data. Structured questionnaires are used for data analysis. Surveys were conducted in two renowned schools in Kathmandu, Nepal. The total number of participants of the study was 278. This study presents that the female and male perspective regarding the causes of rape is quite different. The male students think that sexual frustration, status of women, and poverty are the major causes of the rape. On the other hand, the female perspective shows that beside sexual frustration, which comes first, masculinity power and social and cultural conditions are the major causes of the rape. Both female and male students want the perpetrator to be punished, however 19% of male students agree with no punishment after marrying the victim.