The structural covariates of rape, 1970-1990: A consideration of social disorganization, inequality, and feminist theories.

This dissertation is designed to answer the following macro-sociological question. What is it about the social system that explains the variation in the rape rate? I draw on social disorganization theory, inequality theory, and feminist theory. According to the former, the rape rate, like other crime rates, is related to the structural determinants of social disorganization including population instability, ethnic heterogeneity, and low economic status. Relative deprivation especially when tied to race or ethnicity is hypothesized to increase rates of violent crime. Given the ambiguous state of the literature concerning the feminist perspective on rape, I offer a refined feminist theory of rape. Specifically, the short term effect of gender equality is an increased rape rate via increased threats to the status quo, while the long term effect of gender equality is to reduce the rape rate via an improved social climate toward women. Using a sample of 109 cities, I examine the cross-sectional effects of variables suggested by all three theories for 1970, 1980, and 1990. The positive effect of divorce is consistently strong across models and waves. In support of social disorganization theory, ethnic heterogeneity and family poverty are associated with the rape rate in two out of three waves. Total economic inequality and indicators of racial inequality are largely independent of the rape rate. Effects of gender inequality are negative as expected by the feminist backlash hypothesis. In cities with high levels of gender inequality, women are rewarded with lower rates of rape. Or stated in reverse, increases in gender equality result in higher rates of rape (backlash). To test the second part of the refined feminist theory, I regress 5, 10, and 20 year changes in rape on lagged levels of gender inequality. Most lagged effects of gender inequality on changes in rape are positive. Thus, cities with higher levels of gender equality experience reductions in rape during the next 10 or 20 years while cities with higher levels of gender inequality experience increases. The results taken as a whole are generally but not overwhelming supportive of both the refined feminist theory and social disorganization theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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