Rape is a form of sexual intercourse. As a rule, it involves the commission of sexual abuse by one or more persons of another person without his consent. The rape of the Criminal Code refers to illegal acts in the sexual sphere. In the laws of different countries this definition is interpreted in various ways. Let us further consider how the rape of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation explains. 
General information
Qualification of criminal offenses is carried out according to different criteria. As for illegal acts in the sexual sphere, there are a number of features. If we talk about rape, then in this case, as a rule, sexual intercourse is committed, which is performed with a person in a helpless state. This means that the victim cannot resist due to mental illness, severe intoxication, young age, and so on. In this case, sexual intercourse is performed with the use of physical force or the threat of its use, psychological pressure, material or other dependence of the victim.
General classification
At the domestic level, often all involuntary sexual intercourse is called rape. The laws of different countries in this category of illegal actions include coercion to sexual intimacy not only women men. A victim may be a person of the same sex with a rapist. Also, abuse can be committed by a woman over a man.
Russian law
Unlawful acts in the sexual sphere are examined by Article 131, 132. The second, in particular, explains the general concept of this offense. The criminal article “Rape” states that this action should be understood as sexual intercourse committed in a natural way against a woman by a man, using physical pressure or threatening to apply it to other persons or in a helpless state of the victim. As a direct object of illegal behavior acts sexual freedom, the ability to independently choose a partner. The rape article classifies other unlawful sexual acts as “sexual acts”. In this case, the use of physical pressure or its threat may apply directly to the victim, as well as to other persons.
Important point
Both the first and second rape articles cited above establish the same liability for the acts. However, it is necessary to take into account the separation according to the composition of offenses, which is provided for by law. In particular, if a man in one episode committed two sexual acts in relation to one woman - vaginal and anal or oral - then he will be attracted for 2 acts in the aggregate of compositions. 
Compulsion to action
It should be distinguished from rape or violent sexual behavior. Compulsion to sexual acts is considered separately. It is provided for in Art. 133. The distinguishing features in this case are that the guilty person does not apply physical pressure or the threat of his use, but the dependence of the victim on him. This may be, for example, material, official helplessness. Also, the offender can use the threat of harm to property or blackmail.
Child molestation
It acts as a separate category of sexual acts of an illegal nature. AT Art. 134 established liability for sexual intercourse with a person under 16 years of age, without the use of physical pressure or his threat. The law also provides for punishment for committing depraved actions in relation to the specified citizen. However, if the victim is a person under 12 years old, then the article for the rape of minors applies. In this case, the act is directed against a person who is in a helpless (due to age) condition. Therefore, a rape article will be applied to the perpetrator.
Punishment
Domestic legislation sets a time limit for rape. The duration of the sentence will depend on different circumstances. The article for rape or the commission of illegal sexual acts provides for the deprivation of the guilty person's liberty for a period of 3 to 6 years. If there were aggravating circumstances then a citizen can be sentenced to 25 years or receive life imprisonment.
Examination during the investigation
It allows you to confirm that the rape was indeed committed. Article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation provides for punishment only if the fact of violation is reliably established sexual integrity. The expert opinion will be included in the evidence of rape. A doctor examines the victim (gynecologist, as a rule). The examination involves a series of analyzes, a study of the clothes and underwear of the suspect and the victim (s). The results are studied and can be used as evidence of rape. So, detected traces of sperm confirm sexual contact. If there are signs of a struggle on the body of the suspect and the victim (abrasions, bruises, scratches, etc.), this may indicate that the intercourse was not voluntary. Here, however, it must be said that the examination does not always allow accurate confirmation of the rape.
Article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation as a prerequisite for the onset of liability establishes the presence of guilt of the suspect. Bruises present on the body or evidence that the victim recently broke up with virginity does not yet confirm the violation of sexual integrity. Moreover, in some cases, traces may not be detected at all. This is possible if the perpetrator did not use physical coercion to commit rape. The article of the Criminal Code does not establish the period during which the victim can make a statement. However, the more time passes from the moment of the wrongful act, the more difficult it will be to prove the guilt of the person who committed it. In this regard, people whose rights have been infringed in this way should immediately contact the law enforcement authorities. At the same time, it is necessary to preserve the linen and clothes that were put on at the time of the commission of the act, without washing them. 
The sanity of the suspect
This is another important fact that takes into account article 131 of the Criminal Code. It has been established, for example, that with some mental disorders (schizophrenia and others), a person’s ability to self-control and realize his behavior is significantly reduced while maintaining, and in some cases increasing, sexuality. Actions with sexuality are always carried out in an unconscious state. This fact does not allow us to qualify behavior as criminal even in the presence of moral and physical harm. In judicial practice, there are cases when, when a diagnosis of "sexnia" was established, the suspect was charged with rape.
Consequences of Sexual Abuse
Article 131 of the Criminal Code and other paragraphs of the Code establishing penalties for violation of sexual integrity are provided for by chance. After experiencing sexual abuse, victims experience post-traumatic stress disorder. It represents a psychological and emotional reaction that is characteristic of individuals who have experienced extreme shock.
The disorder appears immediately after the rape is committed and can persist for a long (up to several years) period.In some cases, the consequences are felt throughout life. This is especially true in cases where several people have committed unlawful sexual acts against one at the same time (gang rape). Immediately after intercourse, an acute phase appears. During the first hours, hysteria, crying attacks, and anxiety may occur. In some cases, the victim, on the contrary, behaves extremely calmly, showing little emotion. All this indicates a shock state of a person. These symptoms are especially aggravated if gang rape has been committed.
During the first weeks after the incident, physical consequences persist. They appear in the form of urogenital disorders, muscle tension and other things. Also, the victim continues to experience emotional reactions. In particular, a person may develop a feeling of shame, guilt, unbelief, helplessness, fear and so on. In a number of cases, a victim of even rape attempts to cause prolonged and severe depression (the Code also provides for punishment for such acts).
Motivation
It is widely believed that rapists experience sexual satisfaction in the process of their actions. However, this point of view does not find confirmation in scientific research of the problem. The results of a study of the psychology of criminals allow us to conclude that most rapists do not experience sexual satisfaction or it is too insignificant. Direct sexual intercourse causes them frustration, and in some cases - disgust. In most cases, they enjoy the manifestation of their aggression, a sense of superiority over a helpless person. 
Provocative factors
The likelihood of rape increases with additional stimulants. Such factors may include alcohol or drug intoxication, lack of awareness of the responsibility provided for in the law, antisocial tendencies, impulsiveness, contempt for women. Often, unlawful acts are committed by persons surrounded by the criminal world, sexually aggressive people. Often rapists become those who suffered something similar in childhood or were brought up in a patriarchal family.
Domestic statistics
According to official figures, in 2008 more than 5.3 thousand rapes were committed, in 2009 more than 4.7 thousand. According to experts of the Independent Commission, these data are very underestimated. In their opinion, 30-50 thousand rapes are committed annually in Russia. Citing such figures, experts indicate that the statistics of the Ministry of Internal Affairs reflect only the number of submitted and not withdrawn statements. In reality, very few victims turn to the police. According to opinion polls, out of 22% of raped people, only 8% file a claim. During the 2007 year in Moscow, in the crisis center, more than 3,800 phone calls were registered, and in 2008 - more than 3,500. At the same time, only 12% filed applications with law enforcement agencies in 2007, and 14% in 2008 .
Problem history
Ancient law regarded rape as abuse of the individual as a whole. Later, the Roman doctrine brought this act under physical influence on a person, without attaching sexual acts to it. Thus, earlier rape was not considered a sex crime. In the new law, an attack on chastity began to come to the fore. At the same time, the moment of violence was of secondary importance. In ancient times, the Jews had a certain division of actions according to the peculiarities of their commission. Accordingly, punishment was imposed. So, if a woman screamed during the rape, and it was in a place where no one could hear and save her, then only the man was stoned with stones.If she did not make any sounds during the abuse, and the incident itself took place in a city where someone could come to her aid, then such an act was considered as fornication. Then the death penalty was assigned to both. If the victim was an uneducated girl, then the rapist had to pay her father a ransom and marry her. At the same time, he did not have the right to later divorce her, since no one else would have taken the defiled girl as his wife. 
19-20 century
In the domestic and foreign legislation, the most important sign of rape was not the use of physical impact as such, but the lack of voluntary consent to intercourse. In this regard, the wrongful act was divided into two subspecies. Thus, the legislation singled out copulation with a woman without her consent and without using physical impact and intercourse against the will of the victim using force. The first subspecies included:
- The corruption of a young girl without the use of force, but to the evil of her ignorance and innocence. In accordance with the Penal Code, girls under 14 years of age were recognized as victims, and up to thirteen in the Caucasus.
- Relationship with a woman in a state of helplessness, when she could not defend herself, if it was not provoked by the perpetrator himself for subsequent abuse. Included in this category are cases of copulation with a victim who was unconscious. For example, a woman could sleep, be drunk, crazy, and so on. In Russian law, such cases were not explicitly provided for, but in judicial practice they were recognized as rape. The same was true for France, Holland, and Belgium. The laws of these countries did not specifically provide for such cases, but considered them a form of rape, although less severe.
- Copulation using cheating, but without using physical impact. Many laws have provided for these cases separately. The Russian Code and the French Code did not explicitly establish such crimes, but the judicial practice regarded them as rape.
The second category included cases of abuse of a woman, to whom physical influence was applied in order to eliminate her resistance. An essential circumstance, among other things, the old law considered marital status raped. The punishment for abusing a married woman was stricter.
Conclusion
Many legislations have specified the definition of violence, the existence of which leads to the recognition of the act as rape. The code, which was in force at the end of the 19th century in Russia, left the court the right to specify this concept. Earlier legislation is characterized by special conditions that were required to prove rape. For example, according to the Military Regulations under Peter 1, it was necessary to provide confirmation that a woman called for help and screamed, or that as a result of the actions of the accused, traces remained on her body. This was required in order to prevent the "bad people" from accusing honest people of rape. History knows many cases of mass abuse of women by warriors-winners or occupiers. 
In the event of death or injury due to war, men from the times of Ancient Rome were given pensions and monuments. And the suffering and sacrifice of women became an object of attention only at the end of the 20th century. In this regard, the UN Security Council considers rape as a means of warfare. Today, most modern legislation recognizes this act as grave or especially grave.
