Rape is an enormously important and often divisive topic for all people. The existence and toleration of rape in our society shapes our lives and opportunities in ways we are not even conscious of - yet when we think about them, they become glaring instances of a systematic inequality.
Rape occurs in several different contexts, under many different guises, and it is the context that seems to shape our thinking about whether the act was in fact a rape. At one end, when a male stranger attacks and rapes a woman on the street, we understand this to be rape. We understand the violation, we want vengeance, we consider the rapist to be a criminal. But if there is any relationship between the rapist and the victim, our focus shifts from the criminal violation that has occurred to an examination of the details of the story, and ultimately, the credibility of the victim.
Our focus on context takes attention away from the profundity of the act of rape. It divides us over issues of consent and thus prevents us from addressing the more fundamental and important questions necessary to consider in any effort to stop rape.