Rape prevalence tracks cultural gender ideology rather than innate male drives

Evidence

Rape is prevalent in societies where violence is a way of life, male supremacy is enshrined, women are treated like property, and aggressive sexuality is a valued sign of manliness. In rape-prone cultures, rape is socially condoned; in some societies, it is even morally revered as an act of honor to restore the dignity of an offended family. Rape is rare in societies that repudiate aggression, endorse gender equality, and treat women respectfully. In contrast, both rapists and men who acknowledge they would rape if they were certain they would not get caught believe in rape myths (Burt, 1980; Check & Malamuth, 1986). These myths embrace several of the mechanisms of moral disengagement. Victims are blamed for enticing rape by seductive dress and provocative behavior, derogated as promiscuous or depraved, and believed to invite rape unconsciously because they supposedly experience being roughed up as sexually stimulating. — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 175

Categorization

• ADDENDUM: Directly parallels the victim-blaming and derogation mechanics in ‘Complaints About Immodesty Go Way Back’ — rape myths blaming seductive dress echo exactly the moral policing of women’s clothing this article covers.
• DEFINE: Introduces the core idea that victim-blaming and derogation are functioning moral-disengagement mechanisms, previewing Bandura’s systematic framework.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement: How People Do Harm…, 175