SEXUAL AGGRESSION IN THE GREAT APES: IMPLICATIONS FOR HUMAN LAW

Laboratory research shows that the males of three species of great ape, chimpanzee, gorilla, and orang-utan, forcibly copulate with females under certain circumstances. Variables that permit or facilitate this type of male sexual aggression are male dominance over females (such that the female canno...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Jurimetrics (Chicago, Ill.) Ill.), 1999-12, Vol.39 (2), p.149-155
Main Author: Nadler, Ronald D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aggressiveness
Animal behavior
Apes
Biology
Chimpanzees
Female animals
Human aggression
Human sexual behavior
Humans
Law
Male animals
Mating behavior
Monkeys & apes
Primates
Sexual aggression
SYMPOSIUM ON BIOLOGY AND SEXUAL AGGRESSION: PART I
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Summary:Laboratory research shows that the males of three species of great ape, chimpanzee, gorilla, and orang-utan, forcibly copulate with females under certain circumstances. Variables that permit or facilitate this type of male sexual aggression are male dominance over females (such that the female cannot safely refuse the male) and the restriction of female activity (such that it cannot avoid or escape from the male). Circumstances associated with this male behavior that contribute to a female's vulnerability and stimulate male sexual aggression include social isolation of a female from other conspecifics, close proximity of a female to a male, reunion of a female and male after a period of separation, novelty of a female to a male, and sudden exposure of a female to a male. Male sexual aggression in these species, moreover, occurs most frequently in mature but relatively young males. The close biological relationship between the great apes and humans suggests that these results have implications for humans; in particular, for a legal remedy to sexual aggression in our species.
ISSN:0897-1277
2154-4344