Citation

Austin RL, Kim YS. Int. J. Offender Ther. Comp. Criminol. 2000; 44(2): 204-221.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2000, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/0306624X00442006

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Researchers often base their studies of the relationship between gender equality and rape on the claims of feminists. But feminists propose both a negative and positive relationship between these variables. This article summarizes theoretical differences between groups of feminists and uses gender equality indicators especially consistent with liberal feminists’ goals to examine the relationship in question with cross-national data. A positive relationship was found, not a negative one as the limited equality goals of liberal feminists lead one to expect. Also, similar to several previous studies, homicide and rape rates are positively associated as suggested by the subculture of violence thesis.