I believe people who have had unsuccessful attempts at sexual assaults are still rapists. People that have tried to blackmail people into sex who weren’t successful in their attempt are still rapists. People that have tried but failed to leverage their power over someone to get sex are still rapists. There is literally no difference in that person’s intentions. I’ve had people in my life who I’m reexamining who have attempted to use blackmailing into getting me to sleep with them, which I ignored. I still consider those people to be rapists. They tried. Just like if someone missed a punch they threw at me, they still attacked me.
In my sophomore year at my university, the man who lived the door across from me tried to blackmail me into sleeping with him. This man was also the president of my school’s queer student union. Although I do not personally consider myself raped from this situation, I do consider him to be a rapist.
I think the label of rapist is important for recognizing and pointing out people who have committed sexual assault, and thus are likely to be repeat offenders. I don’t view an attempted rapist as any different from any other rapist and I don’t see why failing an attempt at sexual assault would make someone any less likely to reattempt in the future. An attempted rapist and a rapist are both people who are dangerous to be around, and the fact that someone failed their attempt at sexual assault doesn’t make them any better of a person than a successful rapist. But I also see need to clarify whether someone’s attempt at sexual assault was successful or not as a way to downplay sexual assault if that attempt was unsuccessful. So, I believe they should both be labeled as rapists.
