Rape Resistance
Are women who use weapons to defend themselves against attempted rape less likely to be raped or otherwise injured than those who don't use weapons?
Correct Answer
Contrary to the claims of certain lawmakers, a broad range of data indicate that women who use weapons to defend themselves against rape attempts are much less likely to be raped or otherwise injured than those who don't. For example, a 2008 paper in the journal Crime & Delinquency found that resisting rape with "an object, knife, or gun reduced the odds" of being raped by 91%. Likewise, a 2014 paper in the journal Violence Against Women that examined 733 rapes and 1,278 non-rape sexual assaults found that none of the 26 women who resisted these attacks with a weapon were raped or injured after she used the weapon. A 2008 paper in the Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice states, "The empirical data clearly have shown that forceful resistance strategies do increase avoidance of rape without increasing the risk of injury by strangers and known perpetrators."
DocumentationRape Prevention