My Rape Post

There has been lots of discussion going on about rape on-line which is REALLY good.  I'm so glad this is being talked about. 

My husband went to the Ukraine a while back for a few weeks and came home with some interesting observations.  First men talk about women very respectfully...almost with reverence?...or maybe it just seemed that way to a man born and raised in the U.S.A.  He encountered a woman going on a run in the dark on a trail through a forest without a dog.  She did not seem frightened and this seemed to be a normal occurrence.  Third the women in Ukraine are beautiful according to my husband and they display their beauty through the way they dress.   Just through my husband's observations it seems like Ukraine does not have a rape culture like we do.  How did they get there?

The other thing I wanted to say is that it seems to me there are two or more types of rape being talked about on-line here in America and I think it's good that we are finally calling them all rape.  But we probably need to deal with the different types of rape in different ways...yes?  The rape where men hide in the bushes and rape unsuspecting vulnerable women.  This is the rape we talk about the most, is the least common and the one we understand the least.  Then there is the rape in Muslim countries where groups of men rape women who go out alone in order to punish them for their wrong doing.  Rape as punishment, rape as power, rape to put you in your place.  This is the rape we say "isn't about sex".  Then there is the rape that is about sex.  This is the college age guy who wants sex but instead of finding an appropriate way to have his sexual needs met he rapes the overly drunk girl.  This is the husband who pressures his wife into sex.  This is "I want sex and you owe it to me".  Are there other types?

I want to differentiate these as different kinds because I think they need to be addressed in different ways.  I don't want to differentiate them because they are ALL rape.  They are all bad.  They are all hurtful.  The all harm.  They all damage.  And they all objectify women. I am super glad that the last one is finally being called rape.

What do you think?  Is differentiation necessary?  Is it helpful or hurtful?