The Nexus Between Sex Robots, Rape Culture, and Future Design

This report delves into the complex relationship between sex robots and rape culture, addressing critical questions regarding their impact on society and the potential for increased violence against women. It explores whether sex robots can be 'raped', if their use leads to the rape of women, and if respect for women can coexist with the existence of sex robots. The report references the Sanjay Naker case to highlight societal attitudes towards sexual violence. It analyzes whether sex robots can prevent harmful acts and proposes design modifications, such as rape-detection devices and AI, to reduce the probability of rape. The conclusion emphasizes the need for responsible manufacturing to mitigate the negative societal impacts of sex robots.

Running Head: THE NEXUS BETWEEN SEX ROBOTS AND RAPE CULTURE
The nexus between sex robots and rape culture
Name of Student
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THE NEXUS BETWEEN SEX ROBOTS AND RAPE CULTURE
Executive summary
The purpose of this report is to identify the connection between the rape of sex robots and that of
women. Addressing the crucial questions concerned with the rape culture in today’s society, the
paper analyzed the reasons for its prevalence and perpetuity. Finally, the report concludes with
suggestions for the robot manufacturing that could reduce the probability of rape.

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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
1. Can sex robots be raped?......................................................................................................3
2. Will the rape of robots lead to the rape of women?..............................................................4
3. Can rape of robots and respect for women co-exist?............................................................4
4. Can sex robots be the stopping point for wicked people committing vicious acts?.............5
3. How can sex robots be designed to reduce the probability of rape?.......................................5
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................6

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Introduction
The advent of high-functioning technology have proved both a boon and curse for
humanity. The manufacturing of sex robots was apparently initiated to eliminate sexual
frustration and consequent cases of rape and violence. Unfortunately, easy availability of such
indulging machineries have taken its toll as per the increasing number of rape cases over the past
few decades. The report aims to analyze the reasons behind the rapes, scrutinizing the extent to
which the manufacture and use of sex robots are responsible for such atrocities. Addressing the
questions concerning women’s respect, sexual violence and the link between sex robots and rape,
the paper concludes with the reasons for the prevalence of rape and suggestions for
improvement.
The topic is addressed with questions as follows:
1. Can sex robots be raped?
The answer to this question, no matter how debilitating, is undeniably ‘yes’. Inanimate objects,
manufactured by mimicking other ‘objects’ ( since women are equated with objects in rape
culture) only makes it easier for a potential offender to exert violence without being impeached for
treason (Sparrow 2017). Sex robots are designed strategically to attract customers, most of these
robots are designed on demandable notions of beauty standards, exhibiting desirable, voluptuous
physical features (Eskens2017). For rapists who can not have their way otherwise can appease
their appetite with sex dolls and escape conviction in the process. Moreover, complete passivity of
such objects initiate the tendencies towards rape. Sex robots are hence ideal objects of rape as the
offender is met with no hindrance or resistance to his criminal activity (Lee 2017). Moreover, these
robots are as good as real, alive women, with modified features that render uncanny similarity with

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real-life females. The passive, yet life-like robot stimulates the monstrous tendencies in the
potential rapist.
1. Will the rape of robots lead to the rape of women?
What is practiced over mimicked clones will most likely find its way to the original entity and
the reasons are not too far to seek. The most disturbing aspect of this discussion is the
fetishization of rape and the way it is identified as a well-acknowledged fantasy. If robots are
modelled on women, and if robots are raped as a substitute for women, then it goes without
saying that the rape of robots only indicates the increasing rapes of women in future ( Scheutz
and Arnold 2017). Getting to the roots of the issue, people who purchase sex robots are not
always buying them just because they lack a suitable sex partner. (Danaher 2017) Sometimes
these items are bought just because they offer the much desired and fantasized passivity of
women to dominant and aggressive men. Many rapists, on being interviewed, have confessed to
having used sex robots in the past before embarking on their criminal journey as a sexual
offender.
2. Can rape of robots and respect for women co-exist?
Rape and respect run parallel and as discussed in the earlier questions, there is no hope for
respect towards women as long as society turns a blind eye towards atrocities like rape of robots.
The Sanjay Naker case in London is a debilitating testimony to the casual approach with which
men commit heinous crimes like rape. The footage captured minutes before the incident shows
the drunk and disheveled victim being dragged by Naker across the corridor. The convict
somewhere down the alley raped her repeatedly. The incident testifies how far society stands
from women upliftment and indicates the perils of ready availability of sex robots and their
consequent rapes. Sexual reprobates like Sanjay Naker are usually serial offenders and having a

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ready-made robot at their disposal for abuse, initiates the perpetuity of such crimes. It must be
asserted that rape is propagated more as a punishment for transgression (of women) than as an
act of unleashing a ravenous sexual appetite.
3. Can sex robots be the stopping point for wicked people committing vicious acts?
The modelling and manufacturing of sex robots may have been aimed at reducing rapes and
eliminating sexual frustration, but the motive of the attempt has gone in vain if the incidents like
the Sanjay Naker case are considered. If a potential offender can avail a sex robot, he is most
likely to rape it repeatedly, which will only instigate him to commit similar acts of viciousness
out in the real world with real people. Sex robots, therefore cannot be a stopping point for
wicked people who commit heinous crimes almost as a compulsion. As discussed in the opening
question, it mostly instigates the tendencies towards rape and to put it in more crude and
relentless terms, makes them more experienced in pursuing the wicked activity.
4. How can sex robots be designed to reduce the probability of rape?
The question has to be addressed in candid and controversial terms. For a sex robot to be
designed in a way that it minimizes or rather prevents horrific tendencies in potential criminals, it
will certainly require high technological advancements and programming modifications (Bendel
2016). The ideal solution would be to manufacture these products with a formulated rape-
detector device. If the robot, detecting violence and unnecessary force while indulgence, is
designed in a way that it resists or counterattacks the person involved in the action, it will caution
the offender against repeating such activities (Barbara et al 2017). In lesser punitive ways,
installing artificial intelligence in the robot might reduce the probability of rape. The entire point
of purchasing a robot is to have a substitute for real women with genuine, human characteristics

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(Tully 2017). If the robots can respond in similar ways like women do, it might eradicate any
violent tendencies in the person indulging in sexual activity.
Conclusion
Going by the everyday occurrences of sexual misconduct and violent outrages (in the
form of rape), the reports are a shameful testimony to humanity’s degeneration as compared to
their ever-increasing accomplishments (in terms of technological advancement). The discussions
of the questions in the report makes clear the nexus between sex robots and rape culture. Since
the ban of sex robots can not offer any solution to the problem, the wise step would be to modify
the manufacturing process of these robots to control the outbreak of rape in society.

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References:
Bendel, O., 2016, December. Sex robots from the perspective of machine ethics. In International
Conference on Love and Sex with Robots (pp. 17-26). Springer, Cham.
Danaher, J., 2017. Robotic rape and robotic child sexual abuse: should they be
criminalised?. Criminal law and philosophy, 11(1), pp.71-95.
Eskens, R., 2017. Is Sex With Robots Rape?
Facchin, F., Barbara, G. and Cigoli, V., 2017. Sex robots: the irreplaceable value of
humanity. BMJ: British Medical Journal (Online), 358.
Kolivand, H., Rad, A.E. and Tully, D., 2017, December. Virtual Sex: Good, Bad or Ugly?.
In International Conference on Love and Sex with Robots (pp. 26-36). Springer, Cham.
Lee, J., 2017. Sex robots: The future of desire. Springer.
Scheutz, M. and Arnold, T., 2017. Intimacy, bonding, and sex robots: Examining empirical
results and exploring ethical ramifications. Unpublished manuscript.
Sparrow, R., 2017. Robots, rape, and representation. International Journal of Social
Robotics, 9(4), pp.465-477.