Social training about what is proper, as well as what is powerful and macho, teaches women to be victims and men to be aggressors. The high incidence of rape in this country is a result of the power imbalance between men and women. Women are expected to assume a subordinate relationship to men. Consequently, rape can be seen as a logical extension of the typical interactions between women and men. Women's vulnerability to rape is a result of this subordinate relationship.
Rape plays a role in maintaining patriarchy by perpetrating the threat of violence.
The acts of just a few violent men can terrorize all women and can control women's lives. The indifference of other men reinforces this effect. A strategy for eliminating women's vulnerability to rape involves altering the power relationship between women and men. Society trains females to be physically and emotionally unequipped to respond effectively to danger. Training begins at an early age.