The Current English Law On Rape

* He goes on to say that the law requires a reasonable doubt to acquit someone, but he thinks that a shadow of a doubt should be enough – as long as there’s the possibility that the accused is innocent.

It is true that reasonable suspicion is not probable cause to elicit some sort of a reaction for something or for someone but

"The true view is, I think, that a blow struck in anger, or which is

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.

A sexual offence is a form of assault. The offences cover a wide variety of behaviour ranging from sexual touching, offences against children, domestic violence, penetration to the most severe which is rape.

Rape can also happen in a committed relationship. If a spouse forces the other to perform acts they are not willing to do, then it is still considered rape. Secondly, if someone doesn’t defend themselves during an attack it is not because they are “consenting”; this is most likely due to their body being in shock from the experience and cannot respond.

In the event where the salesmen sold her a rabid puppy, her consent would have been violated (Dougherty, 2013, p.735). When we apply this view of consent to the realm of sexual decision making, we see that many cases of deception for sex are non-consensual.

Whereas the current code of Virginia requires a conviction of subsection A of 18.2-61, this amendment would incorporate accusation so that where there is clear and convincing evidence of rape the accused would be in violation of paragraph two, point three of 20-124.1 and subsection F of 63.2-1202 of the Virginia code (Rape; Definitions; Parental, or agency, consent required; exceptions; Megison).

Sexual assault and the Massachusetts Department of Public works with local rape crisis centers to gather statistical data so we can assess and know the facts and realities of rape in Massachusetts. While statistics do not tell the whole story of sexual assault, they can help us paint a picture of the problem. The forensic nurse has an integral part of this specific population’s victimization. A forensic nurse should have a basic knowledge of the type of offender the rapist can be. As a certified sexual assault investigator for Middlesex County I have investigated, collected evidence, arrested, testified and successfully aided in the prosecution and conviction of rapists. I will explore the definition of rape and criminal statutes related to the crime of rape, rape trauma syndrome, and some of the drugs a perpetrator uses to assist in commission of this crime and how the FN and the police share a different but equal role in prosecuting the offender.

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.

In the Supreme Court case R. V Hutchinson is a legal case where Craig Jaret Hutchinson was charged with aggravated sexual assault in the lower court after the complainant had consented to have sexual intercourse but wanted Hutchinson to wear a condom. However, Hutchinson poked holes in the condom unknown to the complainant. This resulted in pregnancy. In the Supreme Court case, the file says, “Mr. Hutchinson was charged with aggravated sexual assault. The complainant said that she did not consent to unprotected sex. The trial judge agreed and convicted Mr. Hutchinson of sexual assault (2011 NSSC 361, 311 N.S.R. (2d) 1) (Supreme Court, 2014).” This quote from the supreme court judgment is explaining how Mr. Hutchinson was convicted of aggravated sexual assault under the criminal code Criminal Code, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-46, ss. 265(3) (c), 273.1(1). This section of the code focuses on the meaning of consent and when consent has not been obtained from the complainant. Consent can be obtained through multiple ways such as verbal agreement. However, consent cannot be attained when one person is forceful, uses threat or fear to manipulate the other party, fraud, or abuse of power.

The topic that we talked about in the class, Sex Crimes and the Law that really interested me was the topic of rape. After having the guest speaker that was a Temple student really bothered me and I thought about it for days. For starters, I think it is absolutely scary that she was rapped on Temple University’s campus, to be exact in Peabody hall and absolutely nothing was done to help her. This is bothering me the most because I am a Temple student, this happened in her own room, no one helped her, and her rapist is still out there. I feel horrible that no one even tried to help and most people even made it seem like it was her fault by saying things such as “you know you wanted it”. No one wants to be rapped and the victim should never be to blame. This poor girl tried to kill herself multiple times. I believe that no one should go through this trauma alone or even go through it at all. Since our guest speaker, I have gone on a binge of watching Law & Order: SVU and even through about becoming a special victim unit detective for my career. Another reason that the topic of rapped bothered me was because just recently one of my friends came out and said that she was raped by her boyfriend. No one even knew this happened until she made it public on Facebook. For the longest time she was drawn back and really did not hang out with the group and now I know why. The guest speaker really helped me to understand, just to be there for her. When she wants to talk she will and not

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

In the United States (U.S.), sexual assault on campuses remains to make national headlines, and now this problem is increasing and occurring in the United Kingdom (U.K.). The term ‘sexual assault’ varies in definition from state to state in the U.S. and other countries. According to the National Institute of Justice (2016), the definition of sexual assault is ‘any form of sexual contact or behaviour that happens without the consent of the individual, including those who are not capable of consenting such as disability, age, or under the influence of alcohols or drugs.’; and ‘any penetration of any parts of the body including the penis, finger or tongue, or an object without the consent of the individual is an act of sexual assault.’ In relation to the Sexual Offences Act 2003 in the U.K., it is defined as any form of penetration through the vagina, mouth, anus of another person (mainly with a penis), and touching of the individual who is not consenting to the act.

Most people would agree that as you grow up you learn by seeing, feeling ,touching , smelling, and hearing . Albert Bandura supports this by a theory he created called the Social Learning Theory (McLeod, 2011). Social Learning Theory is a theory that explains that behavior is learned by your social environment, interactions and observations of others. With this theory I would say it supports opinion in which I would say that rape is not something somebody just decides one day to do. I believe that rape is learned throughout time. There are many social and even media factors that sometimes may come off with the intention that rape is acceptable. In some media factors they may even perceive that being forcibly raped is pleasurable. Movies tend to do it often and sometimes movies don 't realize that what people see on television can sometimes influence people to see these acts as a norm. For instance the fact that a college kid is in a frat and he 's in a party there is a good percentage that he would reenact what television had stereotype frats boys to do. Television would label the frat boys as potential rapist and the human mind would consider that when you take on that role as a frat boy. One of the biggest media factors all the way from television to the internet that for so many years that perceive rape as acceptable is pornography.