In fiction, the audience (and sometimes the hero) often doesn't just want the villains stopped, they want to see them punished. Often, and especially when the heroes are a little too heroic to get their hands dirty, this comes in the form of a Karmic Death.

But some villains are so villainous, so incredibly evil, that "merely" dying may seem like they're getting off just a tad too easy. For these villains, a Fate Worse than Death is in order. To Pay Evil unto Evil, for the very worst of the worst, we have Karmic Rape.

A Sub-Trope of Asshole Victim, Sexual Karma and Laser-Guided Karma. Often implied if the villain is imprisoned. Commonly Played for Laughs a la Black Comedy Rape, but can be portrayed seriously. When played for laughs, it often overlaps with Disproportionate Retribution, as considering this a Fate Worse than Death means that even a murderer gets something worse than what they did. Common for those who are rapists themselves, especially child molesters, as a sort of Ironic Hell and the only ones for whom no one can call it disproportionate. Many victims are male, but the examples below demonstrate that female victims are not exactly rare. Can overlap with Rape Portrayed as Redemption if this starts the villain on the long hard road to a Heel–Face Turn and Sex Work Karma if someone is forced into the sex industry. May also overlap with Sex Signals Death and Redemption Equals Death. See also Victim-Blaming. Almost by definition comes with a heaping helping of Unfortunate Implications and Karmic Overkill. Compare and Contrast with Rape and Revenge as it can turn into this trope if the original rape victim, later on, ends up raping their rapist.

Of course, many people would argue that no one, no matter how evil, deserves rape. Indeed, many people feel that belief in this trope is a sign of low character. There is such a thing as a Sympathetic Murderer but no such thing as a sympathetic rapist after all, therefore it means that someone at the very least equally vile if not worse gets off in this twisted way. It makes for such an atrocity, in fact, that it leaves a sore taste no matter how unpleasant the victim was. Pretty much every civilized nation in the world has laws meant to protect both free citizens and criminals from rape, and international law considers it a crime against humanity to allow or commit rape as part of a punishment for a crime, and there are countless human-rights organizations that work to eliminate rape against prisoners. This trope is when rape is treated by the narrative and/or the characters as a just punishment for the villain's crimes. Since Real Life, as far as we know, lacks a narrative to pass judgment, No Real Life Examples, Please!

These days, including Karmic Rape in a work of fiction is likely to result in at least some backlash, which indicates that it might be on the way to becoming a Discredited Trope.

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Examples: