Typical rapist is a charmer, not a misfit: Oz study

SYDNEY - A new Australian study has found that a typical rapist does not look anywhere threatening, but rather he is talkative, charming, engaging and even employed in a good job.

The person is not a loner and he can be found at work, at a party, at the pub, or even in the home, not waiting in the shadows to pounce on unsuspecting women.

The study of 33 sexual assault survivors by the Australian Institute of Family Studies revealed that the rapist is even known to the victim and he has been working assiduously at getting her to trust him.

The victims reveal the rapists appear as “nice” and “normal” men who they trusted, and they included friends, colleagues and partners.

Some of the men were business owners, a pharmacist, a police officer, a military officer and a professional working in the field of preventing violence against women.

But the perpetrators took calculated steps to target their victims and build a relationship with them, using alcohol and drugs to control the situation.

Dr Antonia Quadara, a co-author of the study, said that after a brutal sexual assault the men would deliberately reframe what had happened and act in a “nice” way.

“They would make the woman a cup of tea, or send her a friendly text message, or request another date,” the Sydney Morning Herald quoted her as saying.

“The victims said this ‘nice’ behaviour confused them and made them question what had happened, even though the assault itself was extremely brutal,” she stated.

She said one in six Australian women are sexually assaulted from the age of 15 and stranger rape represented only a small minority of these assaults.

“He’s Mr Nice Guy. Everyone thought he was, like, sweet and kind … he’s the sort of person who appears as charming and thoughtful,” one of the victims, Amanda, revealed. (ANI)