Only Words By Catharine Mackinnon

Researchers have come up with various explanations trying to explain the sexual abuse cases in the globe. Some of these explanations form a basis on psychological perspectives, biological perspectives, and criminal perspectives. Despite these differences, rape cases are considered a violation of an individual right and the traumatizing effects are reported to be similar. The paper will focus mainly on the criminological approach to rape cases (Grooth & Jean, 1979). Various criminologists’ literature will be reviewed in association to rape as an offense against the law.

“Rape is unique. No other violent crime is so fraught with controversy, so enmeshed in dispute and in the politics of gender and sexuality… And within the domain of rape, the most highly charged area of debate concerns the issue of false allegations. For centuries, it has been asserted and assumed that women “cry rape,” that a large proportion of rape allegations are maliciously concocted for purposes of revenge or other motives.”

For our research proposal, we have chosen to analyze a topic that hits fairly close to home for the three of us. This paper will look at the social condition of sexual assault concerning college aged females on public Texas University property. The paper will mimic the style of a grant, as if we were an organization looking to get funds to implement a program that would help decrease this problem in our community. The problem of sexual assault is a very broad topic; under it falls everything from forced sexual intercourse, to child molestation, to fondling. In order to make our research more accurate, we have chosen to reduce the definition of sexual assault down to just forced intercourse, or in other terms, rape. We have found a

Twenty-eight states fall under the category of “true non-consent states”, where the prosecution is not required to show that the offender used “force or threats of force against the victim”, and the defendant can be convicted of a sex offense by showing that the victim did not consent (Decker, 2011). While the majority fall under the first category, nine states can be identified as “contradictory non-consent states”, where the prosecution must prove either “the use of forcible compulsion or a victim’s incapacity to consent”; according to Decker, “requiring force or a lack of capacity to consent” completely counteracts the point of having a non-consent provision (Decker, 2011). The third category, “force states”, includes states that do not have non-consent sex offenses. Although the initial impression is that the majority of states have adopted non-consent standards, it is misleading because the number of states that are true to that definition shrinks as the statutes are examined more concisely (Decker, 2011). With that being said, in addition to defining consent and force, the concept of “rape” has also been clarified and developed.

Rule 412 which is the state of Tennessee’s version of the rape shield law, is designed to protect the victims of rapes and sexual assaults. The protection offered by laws of this nature was to prevent the victims of these heinous assaults from being re-traumatized on the witness stand during cross examination from the alleged perpetrators (Brody & Acker, 2010). Although I am an avid supporter of the right to a fair trial, I feel compelled to be the voice for those who are often subjected to constant criticism from fellow peers, courts, news and now social media. Rule 412, although sound in premise behind its development, lacks concession with the changing times. There are far too many loopholes in our own rape shield law which begs the question if other state’s rape shield laws truly offer the protection that they were designed to employ. Capers (2013, p. 827) reports that the ongoing issue with rape victims today is the fear of having their past history put on trial and not the event that took place. It was because of this, that many rapes go unreported. In the early 70’s, legislatures and courts began to rethink allowing an alleged victim’s past sexual history admissible in court. This prompted questions as to whether that prior information was actually useful in a current case. The second question that arose was to whether the courts were actually trying the victim during the trial rather than the alleged perpetrator. This is how rape shield laws came about. Then,

Rape Shield Laws Facing with much criticism from women’s group with the legal definitions of rape and how rape cases are being processed in the legal system, the government is forced to pass a Rape Law reform in the 1970s. Rape law reform urging courts to treat rape case the same as other crimes, rape law reforms modified traditional rape laws and ratified evidentiary reforms in every state in the United States. The most common and widespread changes occurred in three areas. First, rape was redefined so that there was no longer a single crime of rape.

The perspective offered by such longitudinal data sheds remarkable light on the "problem" of statutory rape, identifying for us key markers, as well as key actors, in the history of the law's enforcement and helping us to understand their roles in constructing the meaning of this crime over successive generations. ... The statutory rape codes have been used at various times to reinforce fathers' interests in their daughters' marriageability, to protect young women's chastity from seductive men, to control promiscuous or disease-laden adolescent females, to enhance child support collection efforts, to reduce teenage pregnancy, and to identify and punish sexual exploitation of teenagers. ... Given the constant state of jockeying, compromise and

Violence against women has been ever-present throughout time and place in our world and in recorded history. Although violence against women encompasses a whole range of related acts, rape and sexual assault perpetrated against women is the focus of this paper. Men and boys are also victims of sexual assault, but the numbers of women who are sexual assaulted are much higher. We will be examining the definition of rape, the effects of rape, issues associated with rape, theories about the cause of rape and engage in some speculation on what can be done to improve the safety of women.

In todays society, rape is defined as, “penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus, with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim.” Also, in our society rape has a harsh reality following it, other than just the simple horrors that are embodied in it. Women are always accused of lying when they plea that they’ve been taken advantage of. This is debilitating to the victim, they swallow their pride and refuse to speak out because of the fear that their peers are going to say they either are lying, or over reacting, or that they obviously brought this on themselves. This predetermined notion, that women are asking to be raped, or that they are fibbing or over embellishing the ordeal, can be argued to have began in the 1800s.

Sexual Assault has always been a topic in need of being addressed, yet it has not always been. In recent years, sexual assault has not necessarily become more prevalent, but more addressed by those who can make a difference in its frequency. Sexual assault began with a vague definition that placed very limited parameters on the actions of perpetrators. It was only considered rape when physical violence ensued, and only when said physical violence was proven in the court of law with an abundance of evidence. This lack of conviction results in a low percentage of victims even coming forward to penalize their aggressor. Of all individuals who come forward with sexual assault cases, approximately ten percent are vindicated by the accused getting convicted. (Alderden & Ullman). Is there any circumstance where someone found guilty of rape should be acquitted without penalty? During these times of consent ambiguity, most sexual assault cases were left to the jurisdiction of individual courts-- some of which disregarded victim testimony and made personal classifications of both rape and sexual assault. Sexual assault was frequently determined by the opinions and experiences of one individual due to the ambiguity of “consent”. The criminals assaulting others view their victims as “conquests”, they do not see the need for consent (Lisak & Miller). In most basic verbiage, consent implies the inclusion of yes. And more than likely, consent is requested. The American legal

When it comes to marital rape, many do not realize how serious of a crime it is or how life-shattering it can be from the victims. Marital rape is described as a spouse forcing their partner in sexual acts without their consent. According Langhinrichsen-Rohling and Monson (1998), between 10% and 14% of all married women have been raped by their husbands in the United States (p. 434). It was not until the late 1970’s that for the first time a spouse was convicted for raping his partner in the United States. By 1993, it was illegal in every state to rape your spouse. It is amazing how it took nearly fifteen years to recognize marital rape as a crime, but for some reason today it is not prosecuted the same as stranger rape.

As the most prominent charge to come here, rape was originally defined by Hume as: “the knowledge of the woman’s person forcibly and against her will”. Rape was then defined in the current edition of Gordon as: “the carnal knowledge of a female by a male person obtained by overcoming her will”. However, both definitions have been long replaced by the current definition set out in the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009, which differs quite significantly from Hume’s and Gordon’s definitions, to one of a more practical approach. In section one of the 2009 Act it defines the charge of rape as the penetration by an individual’s penis, of the vagina, anus or mouth without the consent of the second individual and without any knowledge that the second individual is consenting or is reckless to whether consent has taken place. Hume’s old law definition was gender specific and required force for the crime of rape to be

The definition of rape has changed since 1927, with the new nationwide definition from the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report (UCR), the Office of the Attorney General states that, “the penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim.” The definition or rape has not changed since 1927. In 2012, under this new definition, it gives a larger definition as to what facilitates the nature of rape, this includes men as well as women; notwithstanding the victims age of being unable to consent, including the victim’s mental capacity, or being in an incapacitated state due to ingestion of drugs or alcohol (U.S. Department of Justice, 2014). According, to the 2015, Criminal Victimization Report, reports that the rate of

Rape is an extremely controversial issue and this notion is supported based on the fact that basic definitions and explanations of rape usually directly correlate with a state's lawful definition of rape. This proves problematic as many people's explanations and definitions of rape are quite different to that of the law. Social science theorists argue that rape is a learned action with which society plays a crucial role, Ellis (1989). Based on this theory it seems only logical to propose that there

Sexual assault and rape has always been a social and public issue in the United States. A majority of the time, women become the victims, while men become the perpetrators. National surveys in the United States show that one in six women has experienced an attempted or completed rape. Consent appears to be a critical factor in determining whether assault or rape has taken place. Women have a higher chance of being raped by who they are acquainted with rather than strangers.