It was anticipated that exposure to the threat of rape would result in greater awareness of facts about the causes, nature, and prevention of rape in the target rather than in the nontarget community. The study also was designed to test the validity of the Rape Awareness Scale (RAS) and to extract and define other determining factors related to rape awareness. These factors included age, income, education, identification with the women's movement, and political perspective. Results showed that the threat of rape does not significantly affect awareness of the causes, nature, and prevention of rape. Political perspective, age, and degree of identification with the women's movement are more relevant in predicting the extent of a woman's awareness. Tables and nine references are included. (Author abstract modified)