*Why rape?*The National Rape, Abuse, and Incest Network (RAINN) (2009) is the "nation's largest anti-sexual violence organization." According to this accredited anti-sexual violence charity, every two minutes someone in the United States is sexually assaulted. Additionally, they report that approximately 1 in 6 women have been the victim of an attempted or completed sexual assault. In 2003, 9 out of 10 rape victims were women (RAINN). The statistics speak for themselves and support the theory that sexual violence is a widespread problem in the United States. What the statistics don't examine is why sexual violence occurs. Furthermore, statistics fail to explain why women are more often the victims of these sexual assaults. This article will attempt to uncover the truth behind the numbers by examining research and theories about why professionals believe sexual assault occurs. Although several theorists have presented their understanding of the motivations of rape, no one theory has been recognized as the correct answer. Understanding sexual violence is a complex issue and can be explained by a variety of factors that play a role in the larger whole. It is a collaboration of institutional and socialized norms that discriminate against women and the characteristics with which they are associated. As Marilyn Frye (1983) discussed in her book The Politics of Reality, the oppression of women, like the oppression of many other minority groups, can be described as a birdcage. His claim is that, when you are close to the cage, each wire constitutes an individual obstacle and can simply be dodged, but if you want to move away from the wire and see the cage completely, the set of wires is the starting point. force that… middle of paper… it seems that both men and women should increase their education on the topic and think about how they can personally help change the way women are viewed in America. References Frye , M. (1983). The politics of reality: essays in feminist theory. Trumansburg, NY: Crossing Press. King, N. (2003). Getting to know women: Heterosexual men and sexual certainty. Gender and Society, 17(6), 861-877. Retrieved March 25, 2012, from the JSTOR database.Pearson, A. (2000). Rape culture: media and message. Off Our Backs,30(8), 13-14. Retrieved March 25, 2012, from the JSTOR database. Statistics. RAIN. Retrieved March 25, 2012, from http://www.rainn.org/statisticsWhaley, R.B. (2001). The paradoxical relationship between gender inequality and rape: Toward a refined theory. Gender and Society, 15(4), 531-555. Retrieved March 25, 2012, from the JSTOR database.