Why men rape? Book seeks to find out answers

Why men rape? A new book seeks to find out answers by examining a slew of factors that shape male behaviour.

In her book "Why Men Rape: An Indian Undercover Investigation", Tara Kaushal sets out to understand the reasons why women feel unsafe through a detailed investigation which includes interviews and meetings with nine men who have an inclination to commit acts of sexual violence.

The core of Kaushal's research methodology for the book, scheduled for release next month, entailed spending up to a week each with nine men who have raped, across different parts of the country.

The author spent time in their home environments; interviewing and observing them, and their families and friends.

Kaushal says through a study of these "mostly 'undetected' (the experts' term for rapists outside the criminal justice system), some unconvicted rapists, I sought to determine how history, economics, environment, upbringing, education (or lack thereof), psychological state, and attitudes towards sex, women and gender shaped their behaviour and impacted their inclination to commit rape".

She says anthropological, observational research is expensive and time-consuming but in-depth. "Sociological, interview-based research is cheaper and easier but oftentimes shallower, with the drawback of the say-do divide - what people say is different from what they do."