Types of Rapists
"Rapists have been shown to resemble violent offenders or criminals in general.
Acquaintance rapists are less violent and opportunistic than stranger rapists, who are more hostile and use expressive violence."
The majority of traditional rapist typologies have focused on the relationship to the victim, degree of aggression, motivation, sexual versus nonsexual nature of the assault, and degree of control (impulsive vs. planned). Like child sexual abusers, rapists are often classified by their relationship to the victim (i.e., stranger vs. acquaintance). Seventy-three percent of rapists know their victims (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2012). Acquaintance rapists are characterized as coercive, less violent, and less opportunistic than stranger rapists (Bruinsma, 1995). In contrast, stranger rapists are more hostile and use more expressive violence (i.e., inflicting pain or injury as the goal itself) toward women (Polaschek, Ward, & Hudson, 1997).
Rapists have also been classified based upon motivational characteristics. Groth (1979) created a typology based upon the degree of aggression, the underlying motivation of the offender, and the existence of other antisocial behaviors, which resulted in four types of rapists. The power-reassurance or sexual-aim rapist is characterized by feelings of inadequacy and poor social skills and does not inflict injury upon his victims (National Center for Women and Policing, 2001). The violence used by the power-reassurance rapist is only sufficient to achieve the compliance of the victim or to complete the sexual act. Such an individual may perceive that the victim has shown a sexual interest in him, or that by the use of force the victim will grow to like him (Craissati, 2005). The power-assertive or antisocial rapist is impulsive, uses aggressive methods of control, and abuses substances. His sexual assaults are often unplanned and he is unlikely to use a weapon (Groth, 1979). The third type of rapist is the anger-retaliation or aggressive-aim rapist, who is motivated by power and aggression. This individual sexually assaults for retaliatory reasons and often degrades or humiliates the victim.
The fourth type is the sadistic rapist, who reenacts sexual fantasies involving torture or pain. Sexual sadism is defined as the repeated practice of cruel sexual behavior that is combined with fantasy and characterized by a desire to control the victim (MacCullock et al., 1983). This type is characterized by extensive planning and may often result in sexual murder (Groth, 1979). Although it has been reported in only 5 percent of rapists (see Craissati, 2005, for a review), sexual sadism has consistently been shown as a strong predictor of both sexual and violent recidivism (Hanson & Morton-Bourgon, 2005).
Although inherently useful for research purposes, these traditional rapist typologies demonstrate little clinical utility because they exclude the irrational cognitions (i.e., offense-supportive beliefs) displayed by most men who commit rape (Hudson & Ward, 1997).
