Rape Reform in Law - Research Paper Example

Rape The act of unlawfully committing sexual intrusion or sexual intercourse is defined as rape. Over the years, rape laws have been revised as the cases increase in dynamism. Historically, it was defined as sexual intercourse, unlawfully, against the will of a woman. The crimes essential elements were lack of consent, force, and sexual penetration. Raped women were expected to have resisted fully otherwise the rapist would be acquitted. A man could also have intercourse with an unwilling wife, but that was not regarded as rape. Courts and state legislatures, in the 1970s, began redefining and expanding rape crimes to get up to date with modernity’s ideals of legal propriety and equality. A majority of the states now define rape sans the victim’s sex. The prosecution can now prove that the victim objected verbally to the intrusion or penetration. Persons either mentally or physically helpless, or under a certain age are deemed not legally capable of consensual sex. The modern laws against rape are a vast improvement on the older ones but can be stricter. This paper aims to show how these laws can be made stricter with specific examples. 1. Section 2241: Aggravated Sexual Assault a) By force or threat – Whoever, in the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the US or in a federal prison, intentionally causes another person to engage in a sexual act – by force against that person or by threatening by fear that any person will be harmed (Michael & Mike 152). b) Deals with other means aggravated sexual abuse like render someone unconscious and raping them, or administering via threat a substance that impairs a person’s control conduct and then engages in sex or attempts to do the same. c) Deals with children and targets whoever crosses a state line intending to commit a sexual act with a person not yet 12 years old. In the case where a girl below the age of 12 is raped in her home state, these federal laws cannot apply. Some states have very lax laws against sexual intercourse with minors and as such, most cases that happen inside the state boundaries of these states are dealt with surprisingly leniently (Burgess-Jackson 178). Seeing the strict and detailed nature of the other laws in this section, the federal government, still unbelievably fails to prosecute cases involving the most vulnerable of the targets occurring in home states, while the laws in some of these states are not adequate. To remedy this, the congress, has to legislate federal laws that target rapists of minors no matter where the crime occurs. While some states like Florida have very strict laws prohibiting sexual intercourse with a minor, others like Nevada have laxer laws that are minimal compared to those of the former. 2. Section 2243. Sexual abuse of a minor or a ward b) Of a ward. – “Whoever, in the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the US or a federal prison, knowingly engages in a sexual act with another person who is in official detention; and under the custodial, disciplinary or custodial authority of the person so engaging; or attempts to do so, shall be fined under this title, imprisoned under this title or both” (Caringella 198). Most wards are delinquent juveniles who have been ordered to be under guardian care. Since these children are already victimised, authorities do not follow up most cases that involve them as victims. This can in part be explained by the light sentences that a conviction carries. There are cases in which perpetrators are not afraid of committing rape since the sentence is so light. The wards are also in a point of their life where they are shy and withdrawn. Combined with the fact that they are wards by order of the same authorities that they should be reporting to makes reporting of these cases rare and, in most cases, they are not believed. Strengthening of this law could be a deterrent for perpetrators, who will maybe think twice before they victimize the wards. Overall, a one-year sentence is too lenient. Sexual assault is a horrific crime that is misunderstood (Abbassi 256). As well as being the most intimate type of violation, it is also myth-enshrouded crime. While rape is considered a crime that is only sexual, it in fact, is about humiliation, control, and power. It also happens to be the one crime where the victim shares some of the blame. Some are tragically not believed and have to live with the guilt of false accusation for the rest of their life. Lesbians and both straight and gay men are more likely to fail in reporting a rape for investigation and further prosecution, fearing the ridicule (Ashcraft 98). The destruction of these misapprehensions has led to advocates for survivors of sexual assault in the country to focus on educating the public with the aim of reducing rape cases. In the meantime, some vital steps can be taken to make the laws against sexual assault stricter (Lewis & Cathi 178). The first would be through the lengthening of the limitations statute for sexual assault from what it is now, five years, to double that amount of time at ten years. There should also be the elimination of the limit of time it takes to confer a felony indictment in case there has been DNA evidence collected. Another one would be to allow victims of sexual assault to file claims for expenses incurred when moving from one state to another from the compensation fund for victims. This would aid the assault victims attacked, where they live in continuing with their life away from the present danger of further attacks by the victim’s friends and relatives. This would allow them to move away from this situation. It would also act to encourage reporting and follow up of sexual assault cases because were they to continue living in their original homes, they would be open to ridicule, on to of intimidation. Other vital legislations, which would bolster existing laws against rape or sexual assault, are varied. One would include the specifications, which sexual assault records of clients of women’s shelters blueprints and advocate organizations are not made subject to laws on public laws on information. These are not agencies of the government, thus should not be made to comply with these laws. Should this pass, it would ensure that women are more willing to report sexual assault cases. Opening up these records to the public could act to put these women in danger, making them vulnerable due to the same circumstances that made them attempt to seek help. This would discourage the women due to the ridicule and threats that would result from the publication of the records (Odem 178). Another way to make laws against rape stricter is legislation of more laws, which would give women who were impregnated by the rapist during the sexual assault a means of legally denying the rapist visitation rights and child custody. While it is unnerving that a rapist could have access to both of these rights, most states have no legislation to deny the rapist these rights. If this law were to be legislated, it would mean that most women who prefer to have abortions instead of giving the rapist a chance to re-open the wounds that are yet to be healed. These abortions cause many women psychological problems. A different strengthening mechanism for sexual assault laws would be giving the survivors of sexual assault the right to avail both themselves and an advocate of sexual assault during the proceedings of the forensic medical examination (Weisberg 209). This would allow the victim to have a qualified professional advocate present to provide information, support and counselling to the victim about their rights. This would give victims of rape courage to report-to-report these cases since some of them are discouraged by the common myth about rape examinations being intrusive. The advocate would encourage the victim, and thus such a law would help most women dispel the myth via the knowledge that a legal profession is with them. Finally, it would be a great stride to define further consent beyond what is currently considered, what the actions that the perpetrator being investigated for are. This legislation would take in to account all the actions that the victim undertook to say no or resist physically. The legislation would provide that sexual assault occurred if the victim did not agree by conduct or words. This is an improvement on the current one that stipulates that the victim has to prove that she said no. In conclusion, the above strengthening measures are not expensive or at all radical. Rather, they are reasonable, basic, and much needed in order to change and strengthen the rape laws in the country. Most of the problems arising in sexual assault or rape are concerned with a fear of retribution, shame, and psychological issues. Dealing with these will ensure that sexual assault takes upon the serious crime look that it deserves. Works Cited Abbassi J, Lutjens S. Rereading women in Latin America and the Caribbean : the political economy of gender. New York: Lanham, Md, 2009. Print. Ashcraft D. Women's Work: A Survey of Scholarship By and About Women. London: Routledge, 2009. Print. Burgess K. A most detestable crime : new philosophical essays on rape. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009. Print. Caringella S. Addressing rape reform in law and practice. New York: Columbia University Press, 2009. Print. Lewis S, Cathi A. Dealing with rape. Johannesburg : Sached Books, 2010. Print. Michael T, Mike M. Cases & Materials on Criminal Law. London: Routledge, 2011. Print. Odem E. Confronting rape and sexual assault. Wilmington: Del. SR Books, 2009. Print. Weisberg D. Applications of feminist legal theory to women's lives : sex, violence, work, and reproduction. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2006. Print. Read More