Here’s a profile of men who sexually assault women

Men who harass and sexually assault women have certain traits in common, which women can be on the lookout for.

Types of assaulters

Sexual assaulters are mainly divided into two: the sadistic rapist and the vindictive rapist. The sadistic rapist is driven by an urge to humiliate and degrade women. The vindictive rapist is driven by an urge to revenge and hurt women for being hurt, rejected, or angered by women in his present or past life.

The characteristics

Sexual assault is not perpetrated by any man. According to Dr. Chris Hart, a psychologist and the author of Single & Searching, there are certain types of men who are more likely to sexually assault women. “There are men who are turned on by violence and others who are not,” he says. “Sexual predators tend to be turned on by violence, they will think that a woman’s ‘No!’ means ‘Yes!’; they will be heavy drinkers, they will be verbally hostile towards women, and will get turned on by rape pornography.” There are men who will sexually attack a woman once and stop, and there are others who will attack once, and proceed to become serial predators. Dr. Hart says men who sexually assault women will also hang out with friends who sexually assault women.

The offender’s profile

They come from every community and social group. In addition, their violent acts will not be determined by their marital status. In fact, married men will be just as likely to offend as single men. “Self-centred men such as narcissists will be more likely to be sexual predators than men who are empathetic,” he says.

When it starts

Men who assault women start when they are young. Dr. Hart says that this is usually when they are in school or during their initial college years. “They start by crossing the line with someone they know well. Some of them start by committing one or two sexual offenses then they stop. Others, though, continue to offend for years, or their sexual assaults become regular,” he says. Repeat behaviours become more common in men who shift blame for their violence to women.

The denial

“If these men are asked if they got their victim’s consent, they will confess that they didn’t. But when asked if what they did was rape, they’ll almost always say no,” says Dr. Hart. He points out that this does not always mean that these types of men are psychopaths who don’t know what they are doing. They prefer to disconnect themselves from their violent acts as a way of disassociating from the crime. “It is not that they deny what happened. It is just that they don’t see it as being wrong. They don’t want to be seen as the bad guys and they never believe that they are the problem,” says Dr. Hart.

Desire vs violence

Although psychological disorders or mental illness are the major drivers of sexual abuse, they are not always the causes. According to Sherry Hamby, a professor of psychology and the author of The Web of Violence: Exploring Connections Among Different Forms of Interpersonal Violence and Abuse, sexual assault is an act of violence. Professor Hamby says that it is not about sexual gratification or sexual interest. It is more about dominating the victim and fitting in with other sexually experienced peers. "A lot of offenders of rape and other sexual assaults are young men. The only way to have social status among male peers in many cases is to be highly sexually experienced, and not being sexually active is often stigmatised,” she said. Professor Hamby points out that there are assaulters who will have psychological disorders. But these disorders when psychologically examined will always separate from the actual act of violence committed. In a series of interviews with men who have previously been convicted of rape, social psychology researcher Antonia Abbey quoted one offender narrating that after sexually assaulting a woman, he felt as if he had gotten something that he was entitled to. He equated his violence to the victim with repayment for sexually arousing him.