HMA V. Barbour: The Definition Of Rape

When asked to define the word rape, a number of responses may be given depending upon what country or state one lives in and if one is a male or female. According to Pandora’s Project.org, rape is defined as any sexual contact or penetration attained without consent; with physical force, intimidation, threat, trickery, or when the victim is mentally capacitated, physically or mentally impaired, asleep or unconscious; this includes due to voluntary or involuntary alcohol or drug consumption.

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.

Rape, as defined by the Uniform Crime Reporting Program in 2011, is “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.” This differs from the previous definition of rape, “first established in 1927, ‘the carnal knowledge of a female, forcibly and against her will.’ It thus included only forcible male penile

The old common rape law defined rape as the use of force to penile-vaginal penetration without the consent of the victim. But the MPC changed the definition to include the realities of assault. MPS led to the criminalization of all types of penetration among other sexual assault.

Rape can be defined as being unlawful and unconsented vaginal or anal penetration. The source of penetration varies and includes penetration by using the finger, penis, or objects and can be penetrated into the mouth or the anus. The American Heritage college dictionary definition of rape, page 740 is “a sexual act committed by force especially on a woman”.

Issue: “Rape” also referred to a sexual assault, under New South Wales Crimes Act 1900 is defined as ‘a person who inflicts grievous bodily harm on another person with intent to engage in sexual intercourse with that other person, or with a third person who is present or nearby, is guilty of an offence punishable, on conviction, by imprisonment for 17 years’.

A male rape victim is not considered a rape victim under S375(1) of Penal Code.

Attention Getter: What is rape? By definition provided by Justice.gov, “Rape is the penetration, no matter how slight, by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim.” A majority of rapes, go unreported for often times the offender is someone to victim knew. Transforming: A Rape Culture says that if the perpetrator was a spouse or lover seventy-five percent of the time the victimizations go unreported, seventy-one

defense in a federal lawsuit and rape case: the office included “contributory negligence” in its

who commit a sexual offence while 90% are women who are the victims to above-mentioned assault (Brennan & Taylor-Butts, 2008: 10).

Rape is defined as unlawful intercourse or any other sexual penetration of the vagina, anus, or

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” (Uniform Crime

Sexual assault is a term used to define a broad category of sexual experiences ranging from criminal to noncriminal acts, with a common denominator of nonconsensual sexual contact. Across research, sexual assault has been defined using the following terms: forced rape, incapacitated rape, sexual coercion, and unwanted sexual contact (Fedina, Holmes, & Backes, 2016; Krebs et al., 2007). Additionally, attempted sexual assault, or sexual assault that was not completed, is often captured either as a unique type of assault or is grouped within another sexual assault type previously listed. Forced rape is defined as using physical force or the threat of force to complete an unwanted sexual act involving vaginal, anal, or oral penetration. Incapacitated rape is defined as a completed unwanted sexual act involving vaginal, anal, or oral penetration while the victim is unable to consent to the act because of drug use or alcohol intoxication, either when taken voluntarily or coercively.

If I was tasked with the responsibility of defining sexual assault or rape for the State of New Jersey's criminal code, I would not use the term rape. I believe New Jersey Legislature made the right choice as to not using rape, by calling it “sexual assault”. Alter, reviewing both UCR old and new definition giving by the FBI, I still feel that their wordage is confusing and focusing as if the rapist is always a male and the victim is always a female. The old definition of rape states, “The carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will” (Fbi.gov. I tend to like this one the most, but once again pointing out this one points out that the victim is always a female. In January 1, 2013 a new definition became effect and his one says,

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