Rape is examined from a legal definitional perspective, as seen and experienced by both victim and offender, as a social statistic, and in terms of attitudes of the general population. This discussion concludes that the total institutional response to the rape victim is completely consistent with the prevalent misconceptions about rape, notably that women provoke rape. The paper refutes popular myths about rape by reviewing theoretical explanations of rape, relevant cross-cultural research, and laboratory studies of sexual arousal and aggression. The author argues that rape is one end of a socially condoned continuum of sexual aggression against women. She suggests three prevention strategies: public education about rape to change misconceptions, evaluation of societal mechanisms such as television by which aggression toward women is taught, and increased social and political power for women. Approximately 100 references.