Includes bibliographical references (pages 408-447) and index.

A personal statement -- The mass psychology of rape: An introduction -- In the beginning was the law -- War -- Riots, pogroms and revolutions -- Two studies in American history -- The police-blotter rapist -- A question of race -- Power: Institution and authority -- The myth of the heroic rapist -- Victims: The setting -- Victims: The crime -- Women fight back. The author shows why she considers rape not to be just a brutal crime but a reflection of how our society is conditioned. To do this she traces the use and meaning of rape from Biblical times through to Bangladesh and Vietnam, unravels the origins of rape laws in medieval codes and examines interracial and homosexual rape and child molestation. She also includes a discussion of Freudian sexual psychology, legal defence strategy and the message behind popular books, magazines and films. Always, she argues, the myths generated by the latter serve to glamorize the victim while they romanticize the rapist -- even in cases of rape murder.