The Socioeconomic Status of Women and Patterns of Forcible Rape for Major U.S. Cities

Despite the popularity of feminist argumenta identifying the disadvantaged socioeconomic status of women as a root cause of the female rape problem, these hypotheses have received very little empirical attention, and existing studies exhibit a variety of theoretical and methodological shortcomings. This investigation avoids many of these difficulties and examines the relationship between female rape rates and multiple dimensions of women's absolute and relative (to men) socioeconomic status for U.S. cities for 1930 an. 1990. Yearly cross-sectional and 1980 to 1990 change analyses provide evidence that one dimension of women's status—income level—is a significant contributor to rape. The remaining two status dimensions (educational and occupational attainment) considered do not have the predicted effects. Recommendations are made to extend the analysis to the year 2000 to determine if the generally improved income position that women have experienced so far in the 1990s will be accompanied by a reduction in rape rates in urban communities.