The Role Of Rape In The Criminal Justice System

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Rape is a much-debated topic in public policy and academia. Research suggests that one in seven women are raped at some point in their lifetime with less than a nine percent conviction rate and even then a very small percentage of victims report (Wolitzky-Taylor, 2011, p. 808). The overwhelming majority of offenders fail to face conviction. These issues stem from both social issues and the criminal justice systems conflicting views on what it means to consent. While we have seen improvements to the legal definition of rape and evolving consent laws in 26 out of 50 states, these reforms do not go far enough. We need a consistent standard for consent so that victims feel empowered to report and testify against perpetrators rather than be subject to archaic laws that persecute the victim, erode our justice system and put our society at risk. …show more content…

“Rape was defined as “carnal knowledge of a woman forcibly and against her will” (Lyon, 2004, p. 284). This definition was based off of three elements including: intercourse, force and lack of consent. Focusing solely on the element of consent, courts required proof that the victim resisted the attack. Woman who were raped were expected to have physically resisted to the utmost of their powers or the assailant would not be convicted regardless of her testimony. A husband could also have sex with his wife against her will and never face any sort of punishment because there was a widespread belief that people could not be raped by someone they knew. Consent seemed to be insignificant when considering

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