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Motivation Typologies of Rapists

The OPPORTUNISTIC rapist :

• Any method of attack
• Verbal threats for control of victim
• Immediate gratification (usually part of another offense)
• No paraphilic activity ( vaginal penetration)
• Minimal level of force
• Rape lasts a short period of time
• Context controls motivation : no preparation
• Poor impulse control
• Likely to be found: frequently leaves evidence on the scene

The POWER-REASSURANCE rapist:

• is mostly likely “pseudo-unselfish” (say things as if he is concerned about the victim, “am I hurting you”, “are you okay”)
• They will typically use a surprise “blitz” attack.
• They may exhibit “peeping Tom” behavior.
• They generally seek out victims in their own age range.
• They may revisit the victim’s home after the rape. Sometimes they make follow-up contacts by telephone.
• They tend to take trophies or souvenirs from the victim.
• This type of rapist is fairly geographically stable.
• This person rapes again within 7-15 days (biological clock). This short time period is because the feeling of being (socially and sexually) adequate through rape wears off quickly.

The POWER-ASSERTIVE rapist:

• has no conscious doubts about his masculinity, and is quite confident of his “con” approach.
• He selects victims his own age, and will often transport them to an assault location where he rips or tears their clothing off and discards it.
• He rapes when he feels he “needs” a woman, on about a 20-25 day cycle.
• He’s usually very selfish, but can manifest a range of emotion, including concern for the victim’s comfort if it appears she’s relaxed.
• They like to leave their victims emotionally traumatized, often naked by the side of the road.
• They will typically have some sort of comfort zone, but can be geographically mobile, preferring to pick up hitchhikers or stranded motorists (strangers).
• Alcohol and/or drugs are usually taken prior to the act.
• The sex act often involves bondage. This type of offender likes to keep things “foolproof”. They won’t take trophies or souvenirs, but they may have hidden recording or videotaping devices.
• They like to make their victims totally submissive from the start, so they may begin with an anal assault, with their preference being oral sex. He will use a great deal of profanity, demeaning and humiliating the victim, forcing the victim into cooperating with various sex acts; “Shut up or I’ll kill you”.
• There’s usually no fondling, kissing, or foreplay. It is not this rapist’s desire to harm the victim, only to possess her sexually.

The ANGER-RETALIATION rapist:

• is getting even with women for real or imaginary wrongs.
• They are angry with women and are using sex as a weapon to punish them.
• The crime itself is usually not premeditated, and a “blitz” attack is often used.
• The actual sexual assault will take little time, and the whole encounter may be very short. Once the pent-up anger is vented, the rapist quickly leaves.
• This type of rapist tends to attack women who are somewhat older than he is, often somebody who symbolizes somebody else.
• They like to rip or tear the clothing off, and will often use their fists, hitting the victim in the stomach usually.
• After such an attack, the offender feels a great deal of relief, until his tension and anger against women as the source of all his problems builds up again. The biological clock on a rapist such as this is 6 months to a year.

The ANGER-EXCITATION, or more commonly SADISTIC rapist:

• is sexually stimulated by the victim’s pain and suffering.
• The primary motivation is to inflict pain that brings about the desired fear response.
• The attack is vicious, but the rapist has methodically planned and executed this kind of behavior before. He therefore feels comfortable enough to be opportunistic in his selection of victims.
• Victims are usually strangers who may or may not fit his idea of what a “nice” victim would be, but they may be older and of a different race. Needless to say, he is sexually and verbally selfish and typically uses brutal force as well as very angry, hostile language instead of profanity.Victims who have survived have reported extreme mood swings during the encounter, at times, bordering upon being downright complimentary.
• There’s never any attempt at foreplay, except for some occasional, strange licking, but more commonly bites.
• They typically use bondage, and while bound, the victim’s clothes will be cut off with a knife.
• He takes the victim to a preselected location, keeping her there for hours to days, during that time torturing her with instruments or devices, reducing her to depths of fear difficult to imagine (on his level).
• He is attuned to the visual and auditory features of the encounter, and is extremely likely to have recording devices.
• This particular type of rapist will probably have a “secret” life as a married, educated, white collar, fine, upstanding member of the community.
• They may also be the type with a prison background, seeking revenge on society as a whole. Drugs and/or alcohol are usually present in the situation.
• It’s hard to predict the biological clock for this type of offender, 30 days usually, but whenever he gets “pissed off”.

ANTISOCIAL PERSONALITY DISORDER AND PSYCHOPATHY - DISTINGUISHING THE TERMS

In 1968, the American Psychiatric Association changed the label sociopath to personality disorder, antisocial. The DSM-III (APA, 1980), DSMIII-R (APA, 1987), and DSM-IV (APA, 1994, p . 645) continued to use the term antisocial personality disorder to refer specifically to an individual who exhibits “a pervasive pattern of disregard for, and violation of, the rights of others that begins in childhood or early adolescence and continues into adulthood .” In other words, antisocial personality disorder is closely allied with persistent criminality. 

Antisocial personality disorder is not the same as psychopathy, despite the fact that its description in the most recent editions of the DSM (DSM-IV and DSM-IV TR) very closely parallels definitions of psychopathy.

Psychologist Robert Hare (1970), one of the world’s leading experts on psychopathy, proposed a useful scheme to outline three categories of psychopaths: the primary, the secondary or neurotic, and the dyssocial . Only the primary psychopath is a “true” psychopath .

The primary or “true” psychopath has certain identifiable psychological, emotional, cognitive, and biological differences that distinguish him or her from the general or criminal population. 

The other two categories meld a heterogeneous group of antisocial individuals who comprise a large segment of the criminal population .

Secondary psychopaths commit antisocial or violent acts because of severe emotional problems or inner conflicts. They are sometimes called acting-out neurotics, neurotic delinquents, symptomatic psychopaths, or simply emotionally disturbed offenders. The popular entertainment media often refer to these persons as “psychopathic killers” or use some other attention-getting terminology designed to conjure bloodthirsty disturbed persons indiscriminately killing everyone they meet.

The third group, dyssocial psychopaths, displays aggressive, antisocial behavior they have learned from their subculture, like their gangs or families.

In both cases, the label psychopath is misleading, because the behaviors and backgrounds have little if any similarity to those of primary psychopaths. Yet both secondary and dyssocial psychopaths are often incorrectly called psychopaths because of their high recidivism rates. As noted above, the term antisocial personality disorder describes a pervasive pattern of disregarding the rights of others. Antisocial personalities are further described as those persons who “fail to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behaviors. They may repeatedly perform acts that are grounds for arrest, such as destroying property, harassing others, stealing or pursuing illegal occupations” (American Psychiatric Association, 1994, p. 646). Also, as noted above, the descriptions of the psychiatric term antisocial personality disorder follow very closely the descriptions of the psychological term psychopathy. However, the definition of antisocial personality disorder is more narrow than that of primary psychopathy because it restricts its definition to behavioral indicators. Hare’s definition of primary psychopathy includes both emotional and cognitive aspects. Nevertheless, with each new publication of the DSM, the characteristics used to describe the antisocial personality are increasingly similar to Hare’s primary psychopathy in behavioral terms. It is easy to understand why clinicians often confuse the terms. Hare’s scheme of “primary psychopath” is often considered an empirically and clinically useful designation. It is distinguished from secondary or neurotic psychopath in its behavioral, cognitive, and neurophysiological features . 

(From: Criminal Behaviour: A Psychosocial Approach; Bartol)

Typologies of Male Batterers

There is an increasing body of empirical research demonstrating that not all batterers are alike. Categories of male batterers have been developed in order to help understand the causes of domestic violence. Holtzworth-Munroe and Stuard (1994) divided male batterers into three types based on severity of violence, generality of violence, and personality disorder characteristics: 

The family-only batterer

• of all types of batterers, engages in the least amount of violence
• typically neither is violent outside the home nor engages in other criminal behaviours
• does not show much psychopathology, and if a personality disorder is present, it would mostly likely be passive-dependent personality
• does not report negative attitudes supportive of violence and has moderate impulse-control problems
• typically displays no disturbance in attachment to his partner

The dysphoric/borderline batterer

• engages in moderate to severe violence
• exhibits some extra-familial violence and criminal behaviour
• of all types of batterers, displays the most depression and borderline personality traits, and has problems with jealousy
• has moderate problems with impulsivity and alcohol and drug use
• has an attachment style that would be best described as preoccupied

The generally violent/antisocial batterer

• engages in moderate to severe violence
• of all types of batterers, engages in most violence outside of the home and in criminal behaviour
• has antisocial and narcissistic personality features
• likely has drug and alcohol problems
• has high levels of impulse-control problems and many violence-supportive beliefs
• shows a dismissive attachment style

Classification of Sexual Offenders

Sexual offenders are usually divided into categories based on the type of sexually deviant behaviour, the relationship between the victim and offender, and the age of the victim. 

• Voyeurs obtain sexual gratification by observing unsuspecting people, usually strangers, who are either naked, in the process of undressing, or engaging in sexual activity. Exhibitionists obtain sexual gratification by exposing their genitals to strangers. These two types of sexual offenders are sometimes referred to ashands-off or no-contact sex offenders. 

• Rapists are offenders who sexually assault victims aged 16 or older. 
• The term “pedophilia” means “love of children.” Thus, pedophile is often used to refer to an adult whose primary sexual orientation is towards children. Other researchers use the term child molester to refer to individuals who have actually sexually molested a child. Child molesters are also divided into two types: intra-familial (also called incest offenders, they are those who sexually abuse their own biological children or children for whom they assume a parental role, such as a stepfather or live-in boyfriend), and extra-familial (who sexually abuse children outside of their family). Child molesters have also been classified into groups based on whether they target male or female victims.

(From Forensic Psychology, Second Edition, Pozzulo, Bennell, and Forth)

I would also include that it is common for voyeurs to secretly watch people using the toilet. Also, the main differentiation between the term pedophilia and child molester can be noted as pedophilia being a psychiatric term, while child molester is a legal term. Not all pedophiles engage in sexual acts with children, and not all child molesters are pedophiles.