Sexual Assaults on Women in Ancient Rome

Such situations existed in the Roman civilization, which reigned for more than 1000 years., forces women to do things they don’t want and Unfortunately, the law was not on their side. On top of that, women often had to deal with punishments they did not deserve.

Alright, How were ancient Roman women affected by these events?

Let’s start with the Sabine women first.

Some historians describe the abuse of Sabine women as He sees it as a turning point in the development of Roman imperialism. Author Titus Livius, generally known by the nickname Livy, is one of the prominent history writers of the period, and we witness what happened to the Sabine women thanks to the works he wrote.

During the reign of Romulus, Rome consisted only of men, and Livy states that this ruler He wanted to bring women from the neighboring tribe to Rome to live with the men.

However, the tribes were not keen on this idea, and Romulus invited all neighboring nations to the games he organized in honor of Neptune. During this event, Roman men Sabine launched a sexual assault against his women and the fathers of the Sabine women intervened to prevent bloodshed among the men for the sake of the women.

Another writer of the period, named Ovid, aimed to guide young men on how to approach love in one of his works.

Various methods of flirting with women in public settings were explained in this book. According to the author’s statements, women participating in festivals were easy targets. In this book, Ovid tells his male readers, He advised them to choose their target from a distance as if they were an eagle.

The author did not stop there and narrated the abduction of the Sabine women by the first Romans, in parallel with his own thoughts. In short, in this way, these behaviors of Roman men towards women, They became supported to pursue their sexual desires.

Again, according to the sources cited by the writer Livy, the rape of Lucretia was not much different from the story of the Sabine women.

Lucretia’s suicide

One evening, a group of young soldiers, including Sextus Tarquinius, the son of the Etruscan ruler, He decided to compare who had a more morally upright spouse. Lucretia’s husband also claimed that his wife would triumph in this race.

Hearing this claim, the young soldiers went home to see what their wives were doing while they were away. Men who went home saw their wives with other men, but Lucretia was spinning wool with her slave girls.

However, Tarquinius, the son of the Etruscan ruler, was passionate about Lucretia and wanted to marry this young woman. He sneaked into her room and threatened her with a dagger. Lucretia would either be with Tarquinius or die. Unable to bear this humiliation any longer, Lucretia committed suicide.

What happened in Ancient Rome was not limited to these.

Lucretia’s rape and death

At the beginning of the Republic period, an aristocrat named Appius Claudius He tried to sexually assault a young woman named Virginia. Virginia managed to escape Appius’ first attack, but with some cunning, Appius managed to get what he wanted by making Virginia guilty before the judge.

Many people who were aware of Virginia’s situation were quite angry, and many reforms made after this event through Virginia contributed greatly to the expansion of the freedoms of the common people. In this way, Virginia became a symbol of independence for the Romans, just like Lucretia.

Of course, sexual assault laws were not absent during this period.

Stupidum rules were introduced by the first emperor Augustus to punish illegal sexual behavior and assault. According to these rules Sexual activity between a man and a prostitute was legal, but sex between a man and a widow or virgin noblewoman was not.

Additionally, the perpetrator of rape could be considered guilty under the law of violence or crime. Women who have been sexually assaulted cannot file a complaint for themselves, instead the responsibility lay with the women’s husbands and fathers. Additionally, the punishment of those convicted of rape varied depending on the level of the crime.

Emperor Constantine, who reigned between 306 and 337 AD, made changes in the law that would negatively affect virgins regarding rape.

The laws made a distinction between those who were uncomfortable with being raped and those who supported sexual intercourse with anyone. If a virgin woman was found having sexual intercourse with someone, she would be burned to death. If this person was disturbed and in a situation beyond his control, he would be sentenced to lighter punishment.

Fortunately, about 200 years later, during the reign of Justinian, such cruel approaches ended and new laws were enacted. One of these laws; It was stated that women who were raped would not be held responsible for this incident.

In summary, sexual assaults against women in Ancient Rome It is possible to see that society is doomed to great inequality. At that time, the complaints of the women in question were rarely taken into account and justice was very difficult to achieve.