History Main / RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil

** This troper always tough it was about Torture, since for all horrible that raping could be is tame compared to [[EvilerThanThou Torture]] since its the metodically destruction of body, mind and soul by, normally, proffesionals during weeks and months. And victims of heavy traumatic experience want to have died is something "normal". It seems that this is because viewers had been desensitized to violence/Torture/murder (or what they [[CriticalResearchFailure believe is]]) o some degree than sexual crimes by our own [[ValuesDissonance Culture]]

* ''PerdidoStreetStation'' is an entire plot point. [[spoiler: Yag the Garuda vehemently says that he is the lowest of the low for "removing the choice of another individual" or something like that. For this crime, he had his wings brutally sawed off, and so he goes to Isaac to make Yag fly again. Despite Yag telling Isaac that he was the lowest of the low, Isaac is thrilled at the prospect of making artificial wings that operate under the user's own power (though granted, Yag was never clear on what exactly was the crime he had committed), and agreed to assist the Garuda. Its not until the end of the book where we learn that the crime Yag had done was rape his friend's betrothed, and in learning this Isaac is understandably disgusted and refused to help Yag any further.]]

* Note that most, or all of the above examples amount to AndThatsTerrible.

** I can imagine twenty [[FateWorseThanDeath Fates Worse Than Death]] I could enact with household tools, all not involving rape at any point.

** [[CaptainObvious Evidentially they have no idea what it's like to be murdered]].
*** You don't have to live with being murdered for several decades afterwards.
**** On the other hand you get to live. Ending one's existence might be considered quite worse than having horrors subjected to the person at one time.

* The StockPhrase "a fate worse than death" pretty much sums this up, as many people -- including some victims -- feel being raped is worse than being killed.

* It takes the implied rape of his wife to convince the protagonist of ''DevilsAdvocate'' to turn on the villain, as well as convincing him that [[spoiler: his evil father really is Satan.]]

** Tony may actually have been a rapist - he refers offhandedly to having done some sexual things in prison.

* In ''DragonAge'', rape or threats of rape can help you distinguish a villain who simply ''[[CompleteMonster must die]]'' from most enemies/villains who can be reasoned with and in some cases [[FaceHeelTurn redeemed]].

* The StockPhrase "a fate worse than death" pretty much sums this up, as many people feel being raped is worse than being killed.

** TheMafiya despises all rapists, not only pedophiles. If a rapist goes to prison in Russia, the local Mafiya members will [[PrisonRape make]] him a ''petukh'' (an anal sex slave).

* Averted in ''TheDeedOfPaksennarion'' by Elizabeth Moon. In the ultimate test of our hero's character, stamina, and faith, Paks is put through three days (?) of creative torture at the hands of sadistic cultists. On stage, no less. When gang-rape comes, it's just one more thing amidst all the other horrors, and Paks even reasons that it's not a big deal -- years ago she lost the only man she would have ever thought of saving herself for. And once she's made it through the trial, the fact that she was raped doesn't even stand out as worth mention (IIRC).

!!Aversions

[[AC:ComicBooks]]
* In ''LeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen'', we're first introduced to the Invisible Man while he's in the process of raping boarding school girls. Because it's done in the style of Victorian literature, it's mostly treated as a distasteful perversion by the other characters. Note that this is DeliberateValuesDissonance, and the Invisible Man is very clearly a CompleteMonster.
** Subversion from the same series: [[spoiler: Hyde later rapes him to death, and the other characters -- particularly Nemo -- turn on him.]]
*** It was the Invisible Man's [[spoiler:attempted rape of Mina that pushed Hyde over the edge, though -- even a killer like Hyde found that an unforgivable level of villainy. Also, he was in love with her.]]
**** To this troper's knowledge, Hyde was also rapist, or at least considered it. All [[OffstageVillainy offscreen]], of course.

[[AC:TabletopGames]]
* {{FATAL}}, in which a male character has a 50/50 chance of already being a rapist, but [[SarcasmMode that's OK]] because it isn't actually a serious crime in [[CrapsackWorld FATALWorld]].


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** Most societies DO permit the taking of human life under special circumstances. Any society that arms soldiers or police officers, has a death penalty, or has the concept of justifiable homicide/ self-defense/ castle doctrine/ stand-your ground in it's judicial system has inherently come to terms with the concept that not all taking of human life should be punished. Killing people is unpleasant, but sometimes necessary, and thus permitted. Rape however, is never necessary, and is thus never justified or permitted.
** However, generally rape is seen as being on an equal level with torture a lot of the time, and both worse than murder. This is perhaps because in the cases of rape and torture, you might actually ''survive'' - and be forced to deal with the physical and mental destruction that can follow either. Especially in cases of rape, the RapeIsLove trope can lead to the assumption that the victim 'invited' it somehow. With (plain, not combined with the other two) murder, you're just dead.
** Interestingly, this leads to a bit of a bind: courts are loathe to apply the death penalty to rapists, as this would give them an incentive to kill their victims afterward: if a rapist is already facing a death sentence, you having nothing to lose by "getting rid of the evidence".
*** In the United States, the Supreme Court has cut that Gordian Knot: The death penalty cannot be applied for rapes alone (even of children), however, if the person rapes the victim before killing them, this can be a factor in death penalty sentencing.

** A prime example being [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Geoghan#Murder_of_Geoghan Father John Geoghan]], a priest and convicted pedophile, who was strangled to death in his cell by a ''white supremacist''. Given that the killer was in prison for murdering a man who made a sexual pass at him, putting the two in the same cell was not exactly the best way to ensure Geoghan's life expectancy would be more than that of a sandfly.
*** Conceivably, that was the idea?
**** Putting a pedophile, and particularly a convicted priest in a cell with a man who puts such collosal weight behind upholding of his values and you may as well book to have the cell remodeled because it's a great way to have somebody beaten to death with chunks of the walls. This is ESPECIALLY the case of nut jobs like Druce. If he's willing to murder a man for trying to pull a Truck driver special on him (He picked Druce up while hitchiking and later made a sexual pass at him, for which he caught the recieving end of {{Disproportionate Retribution}}.) then strangling and stomping a Pedophile priest into a fine paste should be no surprise.
* A Bullhead City couple was arrested recently after their 1-month-old baby died as a result of what police are calling a "brutal sexual assault."

* Tommy Gavin, the protagonist of "RescueMe" rapes his estranged wife Janet in season three, a move that comes AFTER he tells his dead cousin's wife to not be worried when Tommy discovers that said dead cousin's son was going around engaging in date rape. Oh and the rape of his wife is negated by the reveal (after the fact) that [[ItsNotRapeIfYouEnjoyedIt she enjoyed it]] and it was [[RapeIsLove they get back together shortly afterwords]].
** Luckily Tommy gets his comuppence at the hands of the dead cousin's wife; Sheila (who is obsessed with Tommy) steals her son's date rape drugs and uses them to sexually assault Tommy on multiple occasions after Tommy rapes his wife. She manages to get away with it for a while by making Tommy think he got drunk and blacked out, but this backfires when after she drugs him, she accidentally catches her house on fire. But Tommy, when he finds out that he had been repeatedly raped, can't do a thing about it without exposing how his friends broke the law to make sure the fire was ruled an accident and not arson.

[[AC:VideoGames]]
* NipponIchi are pretty big on this trope:
** In ''{{Disgaea}}'', after Jennifer asks Laharl if demons molested him in chapter 9, Etna or Laharl (can't remember who) asks in a rather offended voice what she thought demons were. Though this scene was supposed to be funny, it shows that Nippon verse demons draw the line at molestation.
** In ''MakaiKingdom'', it is shown just what kind of bastard [[spoiler:Seedle]] was when several demons (overlords at that) were absolutely disgusted with him when he is revealed to have been a rapist.
** In ''SoulNomadAndTheWorldEaters'', [[spoiler:Hawthorne]] is revealed to be an evil bastard after the discovery that he is a serial rapist.
* In ''DragonAge'', rape or threats of rape can help you distinguish a villain who simply ''[[CompleteMonster must die]]'' from most enemies/villains who can be reasoned with and in some cases [[FaceHeelTurn redeemed]].

[[AC:WebComics]]
* In ''{{Drowtales}}'', murder, slavery, gladiatorial combat, etc., are commonplace, but when [[spoiler: Rikshakar]] kidnaps and attempts to rape [[spoiler:Ariel Val'Sarghress ([[http://www.drowtales.com/mainarchive.php?id=1085 here]])]], it's MoralEventHorizon crossing time! He had tried this once before and failed due to interference, but this made [[spoiler:Ariel]] realize how truly fucked in the head he was.
* In ''{{Goblins}}'', Dellyn Goblinslayer crossed the MoralEventHorizon ''long'' before we found out he raped [[spoiler:Kin]] on a nightly basis. Nevertheless, the trope fits, as [[spoiler:Minmax]], who himself had just suggested killing [[spoiler:Kin]] not five minutes before, turns on Goblinslayer the moment he learns about the rape.
* Butch from ''ChoppingBlock'', a serial killer in a hockey mask, is quite offended when his female victims cry rape as he drags them into the alley, 'cause he's not some kind of sicko pervert (though he might have a go ''after'' she's dead, depending on [[RuleOfFunny The Rule Of Disturbing and Darkly Funny]]).

[[AC:WebOriginal]]
* {{PPC}}ers often try to outdo each other in how horrible they can make the deaths of their MarySue targets, but using rape-related methods is frowned upon. Laburnum and Foxglove got in trouble for using the [[SomethingPositive Redneck Trees]] and [[{{Jack}} Drip Rat]] as execution methods. [[DeadBabyComedy They now have to use a "Rape Jar", as opposed to a Swear Jar, to prevent them from doing it again.]] They did, however, react badly to seeing rape inflicted on characters they actually ''like''.

**** Extra NightmareFuel: That was JossWhedon projecting his views on Early.

* The book and movie ''AClockworkOrange'' have almost identical plots, but are markedly different in tone. In the book, Alex is portrayed as a despicable villain, but the film adaptation turns the story into a ReactionaryFantasy with a VillainProtagonist. Although he is still a murderous thug, the filmmakers do change one of his most shocking scenes. In the movie version, Alex has consensual sex with a couple of girls his own age. In the book, the girls are eleven, and the sex is definitely ''not'' consensual.
** Well, he still rapes the writer's wife in the film, so it would be more like "Pedophilia is a special kind of evil".
*** Nope, it's the rape issue, as while Alex is older than the two girls, he's only just 14 years of age at the time of his arrest for murder, so the pedophilia point is arguable.

** Specifically, rape of a female victim by a male perpetrator is the most horrific thing a person can do to another. Female on male rape is viewed by the majority as hardly a crime at all, an often the source of humor.

* Tommy Gavin, the protagonist of "RescueMe" rapes his estranged wife Janet in season three, a move that comes AFTER he tells his dead cousin's wife to not be worried when Tommy discovers that said dead cousin's son was going around engaging in date rape. Oh and the rape of his wife is negated by the reveal (after the fact) that [[{{ptitle4zfvfjq8}} she enjoyed it]] and it was [[RapeIsLove they get back together shortly afterwords]].

**** Almost certainly, White supremacists are known for holding their values in rediculously high regard, and questioning the integrity of a white supremacist or even a white nationalist is often a berserk button. This may attribute to why white supremacy groups are high on the prison pecking order. Putting a pedophile, and particularly a convicted priest in a cell with a man who puts such collosal weight behind upholding of his values and you may as well book to have the cell remodeled because it's a great way to have somebody beaten to death with chunks of the walls. This is ESPECIALLY the case of nut jobs like Druce. If he's willing to murder a man for trying to pull a Truck driver special on him (He picked Druce up while hitchiking and later made a sexual pass at him, for which he caught the recieving end of {{Disproportionate Retribution}}.) then strangling and stomping a Pedophile priest into a fine paste should be no surprise.

* A semi-aversion: Tommy Gavin rapes his wife Janet in ''RescueMe''. Eventually, it turns out [[{{ptitle4zfvfjq8}} she enjoyed it]] and it was [[RapeIsLove his way of recommitting himself to the relationship]]. While this makes Tommy despicable, he's [[ProtagonistCenteredMorality still the main character]].

* This is TruthInTelevision to a certain extent. A lot of people honestly believe that rape is the most horrific thing one person can do to another, as bad as, if not worse than, murder.

** The fangirls still worshipped him as a god though, thanks to acute BadassDecay; they argue that given their past relationship, no rape attempt took place - and if anything, they paint Buffy as the ''aggressor'' in that scene. SoYeah.