Models of sexual assault and rape have progressed from psychopathology models of perpetration and victimization to current sociocultural views. Sociocultural models focus on the factors that influence the likelihood that the label of rape will be applied and the behavior dealt with accordingly. The papers in this journal issue call for explicit attention to the historical, political, and sociocultural factors associated with the likelihood of coercive sexual incidents (including characteristics of the assailant and the victim). In addition to placing the occurrence of rape in an historical and sociocultural framework, the authors present research findings and theoretical formulations to further the understanding of rape
