Initially, the mens rea of rape prior to the case of DPP v Morgan a defendant cannot be found liable for rape if he had the reasonable belief that consent was formed between them and the victim. Which leads to an unfairness to those victims that have been violated, and also that any person accused of rape could say they had belief in consent. Although, it was shown not to matter how unreasonable that belief may have been, in concerning the knowledge or lack of knowledge of consent. Needless to say, the current law has attempted to improve and develop upon this concept, though it may not be completely satisfactory. The 21st century initiated a new state of trying to improve the current laws and precedents on the definition of rape, the prior precedent simply not suitable for the 21st century. Various cases after Morgan , prior to the act that redrew and reformed the Mens rea of rape, came to court and illustrated how the principle of Morgan operates. In Kimber the defendant (D) was charged with sexually assaulting a mentally disordered woman. It had to be determined whether his interference was in fact an assault, even with the D’s claim of consent to his actions, though she claimed otherwise. The court came to find that the mens rea for assault is intentionally touching a Victim (V), unlawfully, i.e. without consent. However, due to the fact that the D believed the consent was there, however unreasonably, he therefore lacked the mens rea of the assault and therefore not guilty.
Morgan has always been heavily criticised by scholars and feminist activists, the mere fact that those accused of rape could gain an acquittal merely by stating their ‘mistaken’ but ‘honest’ belief in consent. The Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA) plays an i...
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...ows that the person does not consent to the intercourse or is reckless as to whether that person consents to it’ – Sexual Offences Act 1956 c. 69 (Regnal. 4_and_5_Eliz_2)
Supra n. 1
Sexual Offences Act 2003 c. 42
Informally the ‘rapists charter’ (Temkin, 1987)
Supra n. 1
Supra n. 10, part 1, rape, section 1 (2)
Rape Without Consent – Oxford J Legal Studies (2006) 26 (3): 515
Supra n. 10
Supra n. 10, supplementary and general, Section 74
The Home Office Report, Setting the Boundaries: Reforming the Law on Sex Offences vol. 1 (London: Home Office, 2000) – definition means ‘free agreement’ (See ch. 2.10) – still not clear however no paradox.
Supra n.
Bree [2007] EWCA Crim 256
Barristers' Perspectives on Rape and the Sexual Offences Act 2003 - (2010) 174 JPN 47
‘Towards a Redefinition of the Mens Rea of Rape’, OJLS 2003 23 (379)
Bibbings , Lois , and Donald Nicolson. 2000. “General principles of criminal law'? A feminist
The vast amount of research has provided several explanations to account for the behavior of the offenders and the low rate in which sexual assault cases initiate criminal proceedings through a variety of theoretical perspectives. These include the classical approaches that focus on the individual who has committed sexual assault and the positivist approaches that aim to explain the social factors that influence the prosecution rates th...
According to RAINN, (2009) approximately 10 per cent of all victims of sexual assault and abuse are adult and juvenile males. In terms of the nature of assault, real figures include a compendium of reported incidents ranging from unwanted sexual touching to forced penetration. To qualify this statement, it must be understood that the percentage does not reflect a vast number of crimes that go unreported due to issues that will be discussed in the present paper.
Rape is often viewed by the public as sex that is not consensual, and mostly sex that is physically forced. In fact, the dictionary definition of rape is “the unlawful compelling of a person through physical force or duress to have sexual intercourse.” In most cases, victims of rape are physically forced to have sex, while with cases of rape by deception, the victim has not been physically forced but has been tricked into consenting to have sex.
Due to the previously discussed concept, women are largely discriminated against by the criminal justice system and denied their right to justice. This is specifically true of women who have been involved in prior sexual activities whether with or other than their offender. “Officials deny justice to women who have been engaged in non marital sex” , as well as those who may have been engaged in a ‘flirtatious’ relationship with their offender by directing their attention on the women’s character. If she was involved in any ‘provocative’ behaviour such as dancing near the offender, prior to the incident she is seen to have “violated traditional norms of female prudence or morality” causing the blame to shift making the victim the primary suspect.
The mens rea of a sexual assault is that the touching of the victim must be intentional where there is a lack of reasonable belief that the victim is consenting.
Thesis: It is crucial to expose the “poisonous” consequences that are a direct result of a lenient society that allows rape culture to prevail.
This essay will explore reasons why females such as Vanessa George turn to the crime of sex offending. Demonstrating my knowledge and understanding of classical criminological theory, exploring biological theories such as penis envy and more contemporary views such as liberation theory within feminism. The essay will then go on to look at the inequalities female sex offenders face within the criminal justice system in comparison with males, using chivalry theory and evil woman theory to explain this.
The historical background of rape is linked to the status of the woman as inferior. In the case Frontiero v. Richardson the judgment of the Court acknowledged that, “…throughout
...n regarding the Lister v Hesley Hall Ltd case was correct. If it were left as the decision in the Trotman v North Yorkshire County Council case, it could easily have been considered a route which encouraged the committing of sexual abuse. The employer assumed the care for the boys through the warden, and thus a connection was present between the acts of the warden and his employment.
To comprehend the underlying levels of conviction, there are unfortunate factors from the police, the criminal justice system, the probability of evidence and issue of consent that make convictions immensely difficult to prove. This essay will investigate those measures showing the contrasts of rape and why it is tricky to prove rape occurred without consent, without any corroborative evidence, attitudes of police towards rape victims, the victims withdrawing their report due to personal circumstances and the handling of victims in court, that lead to many offenders having a non-custodial sentence or being acquitted of a rape charge. In the first paragraph, I will explain what constitutes rape and the variations of relationships in which rape is committed. The Sexual Offences Act 2003 (the Act) came into force on the 1st May 2004. The purpose of the Act was to strengthen and modernise the law on sexual offences, whilst improving preventative measures and the protection of individuals from sexual offenders.
Najumi, Mohadesa. “We Live in a Rape Culture.” The Feminist Wire. N.p., 9 June 2013. Web. 5 Feb
In today’s society marital rape, acquaintance rape, and stranger rape, is a huge crime all around the world. There is a difference between marital rape, acquaintance rape, and stranger rape. Martial rape is when a spouse forces you to have sexual intercourse without ones consent, and it is expected that the wife does her “duty” as a wife to have sex with her husband. An acquaintance rape is with someone that you just met, or dated in the past, or even a fiancé. Stranger rape occurs when someone that you’ve never met forces sexual intercourse upon someone without consent. Because of our patriarchal society, marital rape has become an accepted and overlooked part of society. Whether rape is a crime of sex, sexism or dominance, it is a serious crime and must not be taken lightly. The effects that it has on the individual getting assaulted are not only physical, but mentally damaging.
“Rape and Sexual Violence Are Serious Problems.” Opposing Viewpoints in Context. 2008. Web. 24 Jan. 2014.
The rape laws found in India before 1983 were not stringent enough which used to lead to absurd judgements by the judges based on the laws available to them , many a times the accused were not held liable to commit any offence against the victim because of poor Evidence act and also the way rape was defined and also how the consent was taken into consideration in the announcement of the judgements , the age of consent kept could not get most of the victims any justice. The Mathura Rape case judgement was seen as the most absurd judgement and which also depicted clear need for new laws to be amended or at least a little expansion in the laws was needed so that the judgements can be in favour of the victims. Laws providing stringent punishment was also a necessity clearly to at least get the crime rate decrease. But even the new laws had some loopholes which ere discussed to be changed but not much were acted upon , until the 16 December,2012 Nirbhaya Rape case which called in a serious need for changes in the laws to make them more stringent for the people committing offences, the main question is as to how much the new amendments help in protecting women, as , it’s not only the laws that needs