Laura Bates of the Everyday Sexism Project defines ‘rape culture’ as ‘a culture in which rape and sexual assault are common… in which dominant social norms belittle, dismiss, joke about or even seem to condone rape and sexual assault’. Those who believe our culture fits that description point to figures suggesting 85,000 women are raped and 400,000 sexually assaulted in the UK every year, while only a tiny proportion of rapists are ever punished. Moreover, it is said that our overly sexualised popular culture adds to the acceptance of rape by ‘normalising’ sexually aggressive behaviour. Across the country, students unions have thus banned Robin Thicke’s pop song ‘Blurred Lines’, widely denounced as a ‘rape anthem’ on the basis that it includes the lyrics ‘you know you want it’. Meanwhile, a National Union of Students’ ‘Lads Culture Summit’ has targeted ‘banter’ and ‘misogynist jokes’ and social activities such as ‘Rappers and Slappers’ club nights that allegedly promote rape culture.

Nevertheless, the idea has not been universally accepted. Not only are the statistics disputed, but some worry that focusing on everyday sexist culture as ‘rapey’ trivialises actual sexual assault. Other critics point to the lack of evidence connecting the prevalence of rape with sexism in wider society. In his new book, Why Rape Culture is a Dangerous Myth, Luke Gittos argues that belief in a ‘rape culture’ has led to an expansion of the law around rape and a drive to prosecute more and more people, with damaging implications for legal rights. In part, this expansion is based on social psychological research into ‘rape myth acceptance’ that purports to demonstrate that the public do not understand rape, or what is required to obtain legally satisfactory consent. Crime surveys routinely suggest that women have experienced rape even when they do not see themselves as rape victims, suggesting they have internalised rape as a normal part of their sex lives. So is society in denial about rape, or have the experts adopted an understanding of it that is hopelessly at odds with common sense?

Do we live in a rape culture? Does sexism in wider society mean that rape has become normalised today, or has the threat and prevalence of rape been overblown? Is it helpful to describe society as a ‘rape culture’ or does the idea make us unduly wary about the perils we face in our intimate lives?