Child sex initiation rings.

The workings of child sex initiation rings are outlined in a study of 36 prepubescent children involved in six such rings. Organizational factors include the adult capitalizing on a legitimate role in the children's lives and programming them to provide sexual services in exchange for psychological, social, monetary, and other rewards; operational factors include peer group pressures and secrecy. Symptoms noted in the children prior to disclosure, and affective and cognitive response by parents upon disclosure, are discussed.

Male rape: offenders and victims.

In an analysis of 22 cases of male rape in a community setting, the gender of the victim did not appear to be of primary importance to some of the rapists, but for others, males appeared to be specific intended targets, and the rapists' assaults were an effort to deal with unresolved and conflictual aspects of their lives. For all offenders the sexual assault was an act of retaliation, an expression of power, and an assertion of their strength and manhood. The impact of rape on the male victims was similar to that on female victims, disrupting their biopsychosocial functioning; however, male rape appears to be underreported due to the stigma associated with it.

Adult sexual orientation and attraction to underage persons.

A random sample of 175 males convicted of sexual assault against children was screened with reference to their adult sexual orientation and the sex of their victims. The sample divided fairly evenly into two groups based on whether they were sexually fixated exclusively on children or had regressed from peer relationships. Female children were victimized nearly twice as often as male children.

Rape: power, anger, and sexuality.

Accounts from both offenders and victims of what occurs during a rape suggest that issues of power, anger, and sexuality are important in understanding the rapist's behavior. All three issues seem to operate in every rape, but the proportion varies and one issue seems to dominate in each instance. The authors ranked accounts from 133 offenders and 92 victims for the dominant issue and found that the offenses could be categorized as power rape (sexuality used primarily to express power) or anger rape (use of sexuality to express anger).

Rape: a sexual deviation.

Clinical work with offenders and victims is cited to support the concept of rape as a sexual deviation, as well as a sexual offense. It is suggested that rape is directed toward the sexual expression and gratification of needs that are not basically sexual, and that it represents a developmental crisis for the offender, which in turn triggers a situational crisis for the victim.