Sexual Offences Act 2003

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Rape is covered within the Sexual Offences Act 2003 which states that ‘a person commits an offence if he intentionally penetrates the vagina, anus or mouth of another person with his penis, the victim does not consent to the penetration, and the offender does not reasonably believe that the victim consents’ (Legislation.Gov, 2003). The act also clarifies the parameters of consent by stating that ‘a person consents if he agrees by choice, and has the freedom and capacity to make that choice’ (Reece, 2013) which is reflected in the fact that proving non-consent is essential in securing a conviction. Stern (2010) also supports this and argues that the absence of consent is the defining factor of whether an act is considered to be rape (Stern, …show more content…

In most cases, this is proven to be extremely difficult as it argued that rape is one of the most serious but misunderstood offences against the person. It is described in a Home Office Research Study (2005) as ‘a unique crime, representing both a physical and psychological violation’ (Angiolini, 2015). It presents investigators and prosecutors with unique challenges as cases are often much more complex than for other offences (Angiolini, 2015). Despite popular belief, rape is most commonly perpetrated by someone known to the victim and there will be no visible sign of injury which can make it extremely difficult to secure a conviction as there is often very little physical evidence (Angiolini, …show more content…

There are many definitions of what constitutes as a rape culture society, but consider rape to be prevalent, normalized and excused for in the media and popular culture (Suglia, 2016). Furthermore, rape culture is said to be perpetuated through the use of misogynistic language, the objectification of women's bodies and the glamorization of sexual violence, which creates a society that disregards women's rights and safety (Suglia, 2016). The literature review will discuss sexist attitudes and beliefs about rape in the form of common rape myths and the prevalence of victim blaming throughout society, which co-exist and form lead to a rape culture society. They are also said to be part of a broader manifestation of gender inequality, prevalent in the language, laws and institutions which are supposed to criminalise, challenge and prevent sexual violence but instead perpetuate, support, condone or reflect these values (Henry and Powell, 2014). As rape is more controversial than most other crimes and strong opinions are held and often voiced about it (Stern, 2010), primary research in the form of an online self-completion questionnaire and structured interviews were conducted for this dissertation with the aim to discover the extent of societies rape culture through victim blaming and the acceptance of rape

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