This paper addresses the problem of the "core wrong" of rape, namely, the problem of explaining why rape is wrong, and so seriously wrong, even considered apart from the variety of contingent harms that often accompany it (pregnancy, std risk, physiological and psychological harms, social stigma etc.). I critique prevailing explanations, in terms of the "expressive significance" of rape and/or its being a "harmless wrong" grounded in the categorical imperative. Such views, I argue, cannot dignify the seriousness of rape, justify its legal prohibition, or make sense of a positive duty to seek "affirmative consent." I argue that such considerations point towards the existence of a basic harm inherent in rape, thus motivating my wider doctoral work in explaining the existence and nature of such a basic harm
