History Main / TheWomenAreSafeWithUs

* This is a plot point in the 2007 film ''Film/TheWarlords'', with JetLi.

* In an episode of the French comedy show ''Series/{{Kaamelott}}'', the daughter of a Celt chieftain tells KingArthur--who just conquered her village--that according to Celtic law he must now rape her to confirm his victory. [[ArentYouGoingToRavishMe She seems utterly disappointed when he refuses.]]

** This isn't the only time Fett has acted this way. ''Usually'', he isn't a cruel man; he's just completely uncaring of whoever he's hired to apprehend. (And there was no real profit in hurting Leia, especially since she was already a prisoner.) Later ExpandedUniverse stories turn him into an already-married man (and father) who is completely loyal to his (estranged) wife (this [[CanonDiscontinuity contradicts earlier text]] which states he's never even ''held'' a woman, let alone had sex with one).

* During his days in Vietnam, [[Comicbook/ThePunisher Frank Castle]] took a very dim view of any of his men raping enemy women. In one major instance during ''Born'' miniseries from [[Comicbook/ThePunisherMAX the MAX imprint]], he put a bullet into the head of the VC sniper that one of his men was raping, telling him, "No ''rape''. We're here to ''kill'' the enemy." Said rapist would ultimately get drowned under Castle's boot as punishment.

* Used in Juliet Marillier's ''Literature/BrideiChronicles'' to highlight the virtues of the title character. He goes ballistic when he catches men from his own army about to rape captive women -- despite the fact that a Pict in the 6th century probably wouldn't have such respect for women's rights.

->''That much, at least, his wife and daughters had been spared. Spared, because by good fortune their own house had been seized by Rajputs during the sack, not Ye-tai or common soldiers. A Rajput cavalry troop, commanded by a young Rajput lord. A cold man, that lord; arrogant and haughty as only a Rajput kshatriya could be. The Rajputs had stripped their home of everything of value, down to the linen. Had then eaten all the food, and drank all the wine. But when the inevitable time came, and the cavalrymen began eyeing their captured women, the Rajput officer had simply said: "No."''

* Played with several times in ''Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar'': while being the most iconic villains of the show, Shin and Raoh are also chivalrous to a fault and try to win Yuria's affection without touching her. Another villain, Yuda, keeps a harem of slave girls but does not rape any, although [[TransparentCloset his case is special]]. On the good guys' side, Yuuda is a handsome, lecherous MagnificentBastard who frequently raids slave caravans to take the girls to his pleasure palace... except if they ask to go home, in which case he will even give them food for the trip.

** Even the [[spoiler:anti]]villainous Barbossa abides by this... up to a point. When Elizabeth rejects his NoMrBondIExpectYouToDine proposal, he says that the alternative is to dine with the crew, and without the dress he was offering her.

Too many aversions go to the opposite extreme, painting whatever era or world they're set in as a NoWomansLand CrapsackWorld, which is an oversimplification at best, sometimes outright {{Demonization}}. Modern audiences like to be told that they're [[SocietyMarchesOn much more civilized than their ancestors]], even if their ancestors have to get varying degrees of HistoricalVillainUpgrade in the process. History itself is often taught this way, as well, because it's useful to whatever ideology dominates an educational system to try and show how much better the ideology has made things since the Bad Old Days.

* Subverted in the firth book of ''Literature/BlackCompany''; after invading a new city, members of the company start raping Amazons. Croaker says they deserved it because they fought. Of course, the mercenaries are not exactly portrayed [[GreyAndGrayMorality as pure of heart]].

* In the ''Literature/BelisariusSeries'' it is an awful crime that only the most barbaric minions of the bad guys do. Worthy Opponents like the Rajputs and the Kushans do not engage in this, and though some Romans do, when Belisarius hears about it he simply hangs the perp.
** Or he calls for [[OffWithHisHead Valentinian]].
* In ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' the Silver Horde of barbarian warriors do not rape. However, this may be because they're all over 80, and is possibly subverted somewhat when the Ankh-Morpork Guild of Historians distinguishes between rape and ravishment. "It's a question of style. There were never any actual ''[[NotIfTheyEnjoyedItRationalization complaints]]''."
** Of course, there is an exchange between Rincewind and Cohen in Interesting Times which suggests that the Silver Horde do not rape for more.... [[TheLoinsSleepTonight practical reasons]]. Speaking about an 85 year old Barbarian.....
--> '''Rincewind''': "Rape? That's not very...."
--> '''Cohen''':"He's an old man. Don't go spoiling his dreams."

* ''{{Nodwick}}'': A somewhat-outnumbered human army is standing against an Orcish Horde, when the protagonists bring in a small army of mercenaries to help the beleaguered humans... unfortunately, the mercenaries are... well, ''mercenaries'', and it soon turns into a bidding-war between the human forces and the orcs. Finally, the Orcs offer the mercenaries a fat percentage of the looting, "And your pick of the women!" to which the mercenaries respond with a resounding "SOLD!" But of course, Nodwick manages to turn things around in his usual, understated fashion, by playing the virtues of the Stupid Good poster-child, Piffany, against the mercenaries' ruthlessness. Realizing that if they sell out to the orcs, it'll make her cry, they turn on the orcs with unbridled fury...
* Averted in the world of ''{{Drowtales}}'', which is a CrapsackWorld with GreyAndGrayMorality, and shows that even in a society where the political and war leaders are women this can still happen with it apparently being more about power than the genders of the perpetrators and/or victims. Quain'tana's daughter Mel'arnach was repeatedly abused by her mother's men [[spoiler:and at one point Quain'tana herself ordered it to try and conceive an heir through Mel]] and Vaelia, the only human in the main cast, says that this is true of the human armies in the world as well.

* Used in Juliet Marillier's ''BrideiChronicles'' to highlight the virtues of the title character. He goes ballistic when he catches men from his own army about to rape captive women -- despite the fact that a Pict in the 6th century probably wouldn't have such respect for women's rights.

* Very noticeable in the ''{{Conqueror}}'' books. The Mongols were certainly fond of rape, and Genghis Khan did it so much that five per every thousand people living today have him as an ancestor. However, in the books, the Tartars are the only group known to actually commit rape.

* Subverted in the firth book of ''BlackCompany''; after invading a new city, members of the company start raping Amazons. Croaker says they deserved it because they fought. Of course, the mercenaries are not exactly portrayed [[GreyAndGrayMorality as pure of heart]].
* ''BirthOfANation'' ''is'' this trope. The entire thing is about the Ku Klux Klan killing black men and carpetbaggers who raped white women.

* Surprisingly subverted in the otherwise rather lighthearted ''[[TheElenium Sparhawk]]'' series. The fierce Peloi Tribesmen of the Great Plains (FantasyCounterpartCulture to the Mongols/Huns) are loudly and clearly in favor of the full RapePillageAndBurn trinity, and are staunch allies to the heroes, the [[ThePaladin Knights of the Church]]... who are not only unsurprised, but somewhat tolerant of the Peloi's predilections. During one memorable scene in the first trilogy, Sparhawk has to politely but firmly explain to their Peloi allies that there will be no rape, plundering or burnination during the invasion of a particular city, because it was one of their ''own'' cities that they were ''liberating'' from an occupying force. The implication being that if it was a ''foreign'' city, they'd mostly just stand aside and let the Tribesmen take what they wanted. The leader of the tribesmen is obviously depressed about this, but agrees--with a sigh--since they're old friends. The same Peloi chieftain winds up being a fairly major character in the second trilogy... and, somewhat amusingly, [[spoiler: winds up marrying one of the [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Atan people]]--who had previously murdered any number of would-be rapists during her stay in foreign lands.]] What ''she'' thought of his past hobbies remains unsaid.
* In the HeraldsOfValdemar series, the Eastern Empire, despite being an antagonist, is like this. They have very strict laws about rape that get imposed whenever they conquer a new land. Basically, any woman that gets raped is granted the status of a divorced spouse, which means that half the perpetrator's possessions and wages go to the victim for five years if there is no child and sixteen if there is one. If the child is a daughter, the guy has to provide a dowry, and if it's a son, he has to pay for the outfitting when the son is conscripted into the military. If the perpetrator doesn't have means to pay, then he gets sent to a government labor camp with his wages paying for it. If a guy is stupid enough to rape again, then he undergoes physical and magical punishment that leave him outwardly intact but unable to repeat the act.

** Fett pointed out that what he was doing (pursuing bounties) was technically legal, and that he sees his relationship with Jabba as strictly business.
** He also opines that once the Rebellion is crushed, the Empire will likely deal with Jabba, but right now he's a lesser evil to them.
** This isn't the only time Fett has acted this way. ''Usually'', he isn't a cruel man; he's just completely uncaring of whoever he's hired to apprehend. (And there was no real profit in hurting Leia, especially since she was already a prisoner.)
** Later ExpandedUniverse stories turn him into an already-married man (and father) who is completely loyal to his (estranged) wife (this [[CanonDiscontinuity contradicts earlier text]] which states he's never even ''held'' a woman, let alone had sex with one).

** Largely averted with the Ironborn, who have a general philosophy that MightMakesRight leading to a lot of DeliberateValuesDissonance (but then, none of them are particularly "heroic"). They consider murder and theft more honourable than trade, and the forcible kidnap of "wives" as the prerogative of any conqueror.

* ''TheSwordOfTruth'' series has [[PunctuatedforEmphasis every. single. bad guy.]] be a rapist. For example the books constantly point out that Jagang's (the villain) army is full of rapists. We couldn't even begin to guess how many times it's mentioned that some soldier or soldiers are/were raping women and children. The armies of the good guys, on the other hand, are super professional and would never rape anyone.

* Used in ''Marco Polo'' to hammer home the villainy of the corrupt Mongol overseers of the southern provinces of China. When the title hero confronts them, they say that the women will [[NotRapeIfYouEnjoyedItRationalization grow to enjoy it]] and will love [[GildedCage their new luxurious lifestyle]]. This is in stark contrast with the more chivalrous northern Mongols where the man is expected to patiently await the woman's approval or accept rejection without protest.

** One of Joan's bodyguards, Gilles de Rais (played by Vince Cassell in this film) was later executed as a serial killer and rapist of children, though apparently none of these crimes were (apparently) perpetrated until years after the events of the movie.

* The 2004 movie ''Film/{{Troy}}'', both supports and avoids this trope, depending on how much we're supposed to identify with the character. Achilles' nameless soldiers behave the way you might expect an ancient army to towards Trojan captive Briseis (not well). Achilles' lieutenant, Eudorus also sees her as a prize to be enjoyed by his boss, and is not chastised for his attitude. Agamemnon, being the dastard of the film, naturally feels the same way. Audience-courting Achilles however, is shown to be respectful of Briseis. The script takes pains to show that sex between them is consensual. Achilles even rescues her from rape at the hands of his men (out of altruism, it seems, not jealousy). OTOH, in Homer's ''Literature/TheIliad'', Briseis is seized by Achilles and later Agamemnon as a prize. Her consent, or lack thereof, is not treated as a concern either way.

** In the myth, Achilles isn't all that interested in raping Briseis either, or really doing anything with her until she is taken away by Agamemnon. She was Achilles' honour gift, taking her back was a major insult, and Achilles was very upset about the insult, but not so much about the presence of the actual person. Furthermore, high ranking female captives were mainly used as a display of power in Homers epics, and their duties involved such things as serving wine to guests.

* The Clive Owen ''Film/KingArthur'' movie uses a twist on this trope: The good Roman knights don't rape. The villainous Saxons are shown attempting to rape a woman but the BigBad stops them, arguing they shouldn't dilute their bloodline. One of the soldiers claims it's his right, and is stabbed for his trouble. The BigBad then kills the woman. Whether this is meant as a [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation hate crime]] or because he knew [[EvenEvilHasStandards he couldn't protect the woman for long]] is left ambiguous.

* Played straight in ''WebComic/FarToTheNorth''. When one of the slavers tries to get grabby with the female protagonist, their leader has the gang's HeroicBastard knock the man out while severely lecturing the others in his band.

* In HBO's ''Series/{{Rome}}'', one of Titus Pullio's (one of the two main protagonists) first lines something to the effect of how he lives to kill his enemies, take their gold, and enjoy their women. He's never shown actually enjoying an enemy's woman. He has bordellos for that.

** ''Sharpe's Siege'''s plot is reliant on the aversion of this trope. The British army is camped outside the French-occupied town of Badajoz, and Sharpe's wife--a spy for British-allied Portugal--is inside the city, along with their infant daughter. Much of the plot, therefore, relies on his need to find and protect his family from his own army ransacking the town.

* The ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' series, which painfully [[{{Deconstruction}} deconstructs]] everything else about medieval style life and the stereotypical KnightInShiningArmor, hits this one as well. Soldiers from ''every'' army involved in the War of the Five Kings are shown engaging in various atrocities, including, quite frequently, rape -- regardless of whether they support the protagonists or not. A few nobles have edicts against their men raping, (most notably Daenerys Targaryen, who is a woman herself and took a number of eunuchs into her army because they couldn't rape, and Stannis Baratheon, who embodies HonorBeforeReason), but they are the exception to the rule. Rape is, however, a crime outside of times of war, and rapists without the fortune of noble blood are shown as having a choice between castration and serving with the Night Watch. Highborn rapists go scot-free, though, and [[MaritalRapeLicense marital rape]] isn't even considered a crime.

** This is deliberately invoked by Richard once he becomes Lord Rahl. In the first book, it's mentioned that D'Haran soldiers practiced this, among other unsavory 'victory celebrations'. When Richard takes over, however, he puts an end to it, and actually gets some protest from his commanders saying that the soldiers have become accustomed to the, um, 'perks' of being a conquering army, and some of them aren't going to like losing them. Richard's response to this is along the lines of, "Well, that's just too bad then."
* One of the Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse books, ''Tales Of The Bounty Hunters'', has a short story about Leia in her metal bikini being shoved into Boba Fett's room for the night, since Jabba wants to give his bounty hunter something extra. Fett gives her the bed, leans against the wall, and tells her that sex before marriage is immoral, the Rebellion is morally wrong, and Han Solo is worse than he is because Solo smuggles spice.

** Later ExpandedUniverse stories turn him into an already-married man who is completely loyal to his (estranged) wife (this [[CanonDiscontinuity contradicts earlier text]] which states he's a virgin).

* Played straight in ''{{FarToTheNorth}}''. When one of the slavers tries to get grabby with the female protagonist, their leader has the gang's HeroicBastard knock the man out while severely lecturing the others in his band.

* ''Captain Corelli's Mandolin'': Corelli catches an Italian soldier trying to rape a Greek girl. He makes the man stand in the sun for hours wearing nothing but a helmet and a haversack full of rocks.