Why the Conviction Rate for Rape Remains So Low - Essay Example

Introduction In any case of rape or sexual assault, the primary issue is the definition of rape and what constitutes rape in legal terms. Most legalsystems define rape as penetration of the vagina by the penis without the woman’s consent (Raitt and Zeedyk p.97). This definition is continuously challenged and changed over time. The Sexual Offense Act of 2003 developed a structured and modern way of defining sexual assault and rape. With this, the concept of consent has been developed to further place bearing on any sexual without consent. Although there are more reported incidences of woman rape, there are also incidences of male rape. If there is a low reporting percentage of women being raped, there is even a lower percentage of males reporting they were raped. This is associated with the issue of consent, acceptance and willingness. Whether it is a male or a female being forced to perform any sexual act without a conscious consent, then it can be considered as a rape or sexual assault case. Thus, it is important to establish the legal definition of sexual crime, and the accompanying protection that it gives the victims, making them realize that it is not their fault and it is not willingness if they accept to do the sexual act when they are paralyzed by fear or when making a choice between doing the sexual act or dying in the hands of the assailant. Forcing someone to commit any sexual act without their consent is a sexual assault or rape. The 1994 Criminal Justice and Public Order Act redefined rape to take account of female, as well as, male victims (Anderson and Doherty p.83). It amended the definition of rape to cover vaginal or anal intercourse against a man or a woman. This significantly changed the view on rape and acknowledged that men can also be raped. However, rape literature indicates that sexual victimization of men is a serious, yet largely invisible problem in the society (ibid p.83). This is largely influenced by the actual and perceived societal responses on such incidences because of the normative expectations about masculinity (ibid p.83). Because they are seen as the protectors and the stronger sex, they believe that being raped indicates weakness, or association with being gay. Although there are reported and non-reported incidences of male rape, this paper focuses of female rape. The focus of this paper is the low rape conviction rape in the United Kingdom, and how this affects other sexual crime cases, the victims, and the society itself. The first thing to consider is how the law is structured. This will indicate its influences in the reporting rate and the conviction rate of the crime. With this, it can be determined how the law should be changed or what are the missing ingredients in the recent laws that will push for higher conviction rate. Also, it is important to consider that the reporting rate affects the conviction rate. If the crime is not reported, there will be no court trial, and there will be no conviction or acquittal. This indicates that the victims have a responsibility and a part to play in increasing conviction rates. This direction takes us to determining whether the laws provide ample protection to the victims, not just to protect them from injustice but also from the humiliation from the society and from the court proceedings, which repeatedly victimizes them as they are made to recall their ordeals. Statistics show that the conviction rate of the United Kingdom on rape cases are as low as 6%. Conviction rate is defined as the percentage of the rape cases being brought to court and ending up with a conviction. The understanding of rape behaviour and rape cases has been limited to this result and the reporting rate, however, the attrition rate and unreported rape incidences are rarely discussed or studied. This shows that the conviction rate of rape cases is highly skewed and does not indicate the failure or success of laws against rape. Rape behaviour, unreported rape incidences, cultural beliefs and attitudes towards rape, reporting rate and the attrition rate of rape cases need to be studied, too, in order to gain a better understanding of the conviction rate and its impact on the society and vice versa. The Low Reporting Rate British Crime Survey results describe that 0.4% of women aged 16 to 59 years of age in England and Wales said they had been raped preceding the 2000 BCS, this is an estimate of 61,000 victims (Myhill and Allen p.1). It also reported that 1 in 20 women or 4.9% saidthey have been raped since age 16 and 1 in 10 women or 9.7% said they had experienced some form of sexual victimization (ibid p.1). Survey results show that 18% of the incidences reported in the survey were reported to the police, the police came to know about the 20% (ibid p.1). This shows that there is a larger percentage not reported, 62% of those reported incidences in the survey. This shows that there is a low percentage of reported rape cases and sexual assault complaints. This, alone, shows that this is one of the reasons why there is a low conviction rape. There are still thousands, even hundreds of thousands of victims who haven’t come out of hiding, for many reasons. The British Crime Survey is a random survey designed to determine the number of sexual assault and rape cases that has happened during a period of time, whether it was reported or not. Since confidentiality is important in this kind of survey, techniques and technological developments have been created to increase the trust and honesty of the respondent in answering the questions. The goal of this survey is to uncover the truth in the number of sexual assault and rape incidences. Rape incidences are not reported as much as burglary or murder because of the social stigma that it is associated with. There are even lesser number of partners or wives reporting that they have been sexually assaulted. Out of a representative sample of 1,007 married women, 14% or one in seven of married women have experienced a form of rape or sexual assault from their husbands (Temkin p.74). This signifies that marital rape exists, though, same as other rape cases, it is not reported much because of the notion that sex is part of a marriage and a woman’s obligation to her husband. Marital rape occurs the same way as other rapes occur, when their is no conscious consent of having sexual intercourse or penetration. The primary reason for the low reporting rate of rape cases is social stigma and the social view on the occurrence of rape. “There is a widespread assumption that many allegations of rape are false and the result of malice on behalf of the accuser” (Webber p.56). This has something to do with the definition of rape, which roots on the definition of consent. Women face the social stigma of being humiliated and scorned because of two things: their character and their behaviour. If the woman is not known and she is fighting someone that has a connection or someone who has a name, the woman is seen as trying to get attention through the alleged perpetrator’s name. The woman may also be viewed as someone stupid because of allowing the incident to happen to her, or worse, she is viewed as someone who provokes the rape incident to happen. Her behaviour is also critically viewed, especially when she is the type of woman who wears sexy or provocative clothes. Dressing and acting provocatively, she is believed to have asked for the incident to happen to her. This wrongly indicates that the character and the behaviour of a woman imply consent to intercourse. Rape myths have influenced rape behaviours, views and biases regarding rape incidences. These myths have generated stereotypes and have influenced how the common people, and even the justice system views offenders and victims alike. Stereotypes of rapists are more associated with cultural differences. The society is more inclined to prejudice and a call for justice when the perpetrator is of a different race. Black men are vigorously pursued and more harshly punished than white men (Webber p.64). If the victim is of a different race, the public clamour for a more in depth determination of the victim’s agenda and purpose of filing for rape and her behaviour and character, and because is following her cultural norms and standards, she is in a partial position than that of the accused, especially if the accused belongs to the mainstream culture. Black women, in general are deemed more culpable than white females (ibid p.64). This signifies that rape is indeed a complex crime (ibid p.64). It may partly be a sexual crime but it is more a crime of power and domination. The unjust treatment of rape victims also influences the reporting rate of the said crime. As women are placed in a negative light, they are also treated like criminals instead of being taken care of as a victim should be. There are also other various reasons for not reporting the crime: not naming or knowing the event as rape, not believing that the police and the criminal justice system would believe that the said incident is rape, fear of disbelief, blame, judgement, disclosure and further attack or intimidation from the offender, distrust on the justice system, divided loyalty between the self and the known offender, being the partner or ex-partner, and language and cultural differences of the woman. The basis of the occurrence and the nature of rape has been the reported crimes or the official surveys that have been brought to attention by different government and non-government organizations. This has neglected, in great parts, the unreported crime. The nature of these kinds of rape incidences are not known and are, generally, not studied because of the lack of data willingly given by the victims. This indicates that a large part of the society’s belief in the nature of rape is still tarnished and incomplete. Because of the perception of the society on the said crime, reporting of rape cases has been low. This greatly influences the conviction rate of rape cases. The Impact of Law and Law Changes on Understanding Rape The definition of rape and what constitutes sexual assault has been a challenging issue for many years. That is why until the recent years, there have been many changes to accommodate the different scenarios and genders that have been victimized. There have been sexual activities wherein it had not been treated as an assault or offense because of the common perceptions and the forgotten aspects of what constitutes a sexual relationship. The definition of rape has affected the way a victim, a perpetrator and even the criminal justice system’s approach to such incidences. Consent plays a big part in the definition of rape. This has been adjusted and covered to emphasize the importance of mutual understanding and consent during a sexual activity. There are types of sexual offences wherein the sexual activity becomes an seduction-turned-into-rape incident and an exploitation rape (Webber p.58). In the first scenario, there is a consensual agreement in the sexual activity but the offender does not stop their sexual advances at clear signs of unease or withdrawal of consent (ibid p.58). This makes the victim blame herself and sometimes even confuse the situation since there is a prior consent but was withdrawn at a later part of the sexual activity. The victim and the offender may feel that this incident was not rape since there was a provocation of a sexual activity in the first place. But noting that there is a withdrawn consent, showing that there is still a rejection of continuing the said sexual activity and being forced to continue on, the sexual activity is classified as a rape incident. This type of incidents make the victims fight harder since there is a primary consent, which is played by the defence team as a provocation of the said sexual activity. With the way how the victim is victimized yet again because of the way how she is treated in court because of this lowers the reporting rate of the said type of rape case. The second incident shows an unequal status or power relation between the victim and the offender, with the offender having the higher status (ibid p.58). An example of this is a forced sex labour by an employee’s boss threatening her with unemployment if she does not concede to having sex with him. The definition of a sexual activity, sexual relationship and rape vary from culture to culture. This impacts the way how an individual views rape. It should be considered that there are cultures wherein they define such sexual incidences as normal and as a crime. This is also another factor that influences reporting rates. The confusion and ambivalent nature of rape and sexual activity or relation hampers the proper and just treatment of rape victims. The Sexual Offenses Act of 2003 provided a clearer framework of the nature of rape. It indicates that rape occurs when someone intentionally penetrates the vagina, anus or mouth of another person with his penis, that the other person does not consent to the penetration and the perpetrator does not reasonably believe that the other person consents. Sexual assault, on the other hand, is defined as penetration of the vagina or anus of another person with a part of his body or anything else. This clears the subject of penetration and consent. There is no indication that force or violence should be used in order to declare that the action is rape. The absence of consent and the reasonable belief of the perpetrator is enough to define that the sexual activity is rape. This has been a big improvement from the former definition of rape from the Sexual Offences Act of 1956 that rape is any unlawful sexual intercourse with a woman. With this the definition, the main ground for rape is any sexual activity that does not have any reasonable grounds for believing that there was consent. The defender must then prove that he has reasonable belief for the consensus, if this cannot be proven then there is no believable grounds for consent. With the changing definition and the wider contextual understanding of rape behaviour, the public becomes more aware of the possible cases and incidences that can be called rape. This impacts the public notion of what constitutes rape. And this influences the reporting rate. As the reporting goes higher, it does not necessarily mean that rape cases increase. It signifies more that the victims are more than willing to come forward because of the better chance for being treated justly because of the changes in the law, and the definition rape and sexual assault. But amendments can only work better if it is accepted by the public, and, more especially the rape victims as a means to protect them. The proceedings and process of investigating the validity and veracity of a case should be taken into consideration. Without proper use, the amendments will not serve its purpose and the concepts that it is establishing will not be instituted. Thus, not only the public should be educated about the law, the court system and the police should also be educated on this law as it gives special care and attention to the needs and rights of the victims to gain justice. Police and Court Beliefs and Behaviour and How it Influences the Conviction Rate As it gets past the reporting stage, it is the police’s behaviour that primarily affects the victim’s behaviour towards the case she is filing. Because of the sensitivity of the case, the important role of the police is to listen to the victim, understand the case, and to report it including the evidences that he has gathered from the victim and from the case. There were suggestions that officers are not fully trained in understanding and in dealing with victims who come in to report (Government Equalities Office p.57). Because they are the first people that the victims turn to, they influence the way how the victim sees the success of getting a conviction or not. It is, thus, important that police officers are trained to handle these types of cases as it creates major effects in the filing of the case or the attrition of the case. There are some cases wherein the investigator does not report the crime because they believe that it will not likely get a conviction (ibid p.57). This prevents the rape incident to be studied and analyzed thoroughly because the officer has judged the victim and the situation at once without giving the chance for the victim to file the case and to have the jury or the judge analyze the situation. It is in the hands of the jury or the judge to convict or acquit the offender, not the police’s. Because of this behaviour, there is a lower number of cases that reach the court houses, thus, impacting the conviction rate. Because there is a lower number of cases reaching the trial stage, there is a lower rate of a conviction. This indicates even more that the conviction rate of 6% is highly skewed and does not show the entire picture of the rape cases, reported or unreported. Rape is a crime of submission, violation of personal and intimate space, and for most cases wherein the perpetrator is someone the victims knows, a betrayal of trust. This signifies that rape is a psychological crime wherein the victim is affected not just physically but also mentally and emotionally. Because of this, opening the case up and bringing it out in the open makes the victim feel vulnerable once again as she was when she was being raped. The process of questioning the victim, from the investigators to the court opens the wounds and makes the victim relive the painful and traumatic experience over and over. This impacts the victim psychologically, and because this is a highly unique and sensitive crime that scrutinizes more the validity of the crime than any other crime does, this puts the victim in an even more vulnerable position as her personality, character and behaviour is scrutinized to prove that there was indeed no consent given to the said sexual activity. Attrition Rate of Rape Cases and its Impact on the Conviction Rate The conviction rate only shows the percentage of the number of cases that has reached the court houses with the offender getting the conviction in the end. On the blind side, the attrition rate composes the percentage of cases that are withdrawn from the courthouses for various reasons. The cultural conceptions of rape or rape myths lead to attrition of the said cases. Attrition also perpetuates even more stereotypes and myths that are detrimental for the processing of the said criminal activity. The attrition process reflects and reproduces patterns of a narrowed understanding of the crime, reinforcing stereotypes and cultural conceptions relating to the victim and the perpetuator (Kelly, et.al. p.18). Despite the various adjustments and amendments done to clarify the nature of rape, the protection of the victims and the conviction of offenders, the conviction did not increase or remained static. This is associated with the reporting rate and the losing of the case in the early stages of investigation. This can be attributed to the extreme pressure and stress that is placed on the victim. The manner of police treatment coupled with the social view on sexual activities and rape cases are highly influential on the victim’s decision to pursue or retract the case. Again, this has something to do with the victimization of the sexual victim. Who reports the rape incident also affects the possibilities of the case being pushed through or withdrawn. 52% of the reported crimes are reported by the victims themselves, 35% were reported by someone other than the victim, may a close friend, family member or neighbour and the 13% was found out by the police in some way (Kelly, et.al. p.49). The timing of the report also has an impact on the pursuance of the case. This is not limited to filing a legal report. Informing someone else regarding the incident is taken into account, as this is relevant in understanding how someone else initiating the report affects the course of the case. The social acceptance of the possibilities and the factors of perpetuating the incident shows that social stigma and humiliation, as well as, acceptance are great factors in reporting the case within 24 hours. Since this crime is sensitive and psychological in nature, the victim faces the burden of blaming herself, why it happened to her, believing that people would not believe her and distrust on the justice system creep into her mind. Victims usually think about the crime, whether a rape or an assault really happened before reporting it or telling someone about it. It can even be more complicated as the perpetrator has a closer relationship to the victim. Another factor that affects attrition rate is the immensity of the evidence against the assault. Inconsistencies brought about by concealing behavioural wrongdoings or misjudgement on their own decisions brings the case into a halt as there is less evidence gathered or more evidence fabricated. Thus, it is important to get the entirety and the true story behind the incident. The trend and process of questioning is important in getting the truth out and this shows the importance of the role of police officer. With this, there will be lesser doubts in reporting crimes and a possibility of increase in the reporting rates will happen. Victims have Another compelling factor in the withdrawal of the case is when there is lack of proper evidence which may result to either no offender identified or no conviction expected with the case. Judgements are made early in the investigation, thus, discouraging victims to report the crime. If there is no offender identified and the investigators easily give up the case, the victims which reported the crime and those victims who have yet to report the crime that happened to them will be discouraged to report the said rape because they will feel that the justice system is not on their side. The victim’s experiences on how their crime is processed affect greatly the withdrawal rate of rape crimes. The victims who have chosen to withdraw their cases were because of fear from facing the court, the perpetrator, and fear and humiliation of being scrutinized and judged in public. Conclusion The conviction rate low is presented with a low number since there is a low number of cases that have been successfully filed in courts and were not withdrawn. For example, there are 100 rape cases. Only 50 of these are reported and of these 50, there are only 30% that is successfully filed in courts. Of these 15 cases there are 5 which are withdrawn in the middle of the ongoing case and of the 10 left there are only 6 that got a conviction. This shows how the conviction rate ended up being only 6% of the 100 rape cases. Reporting and attrition are two great factors why the conviction rate is low. If there are more cases successfully ending up in court, with more cases successfully reaching the end of the trial, then there could be a higher conviction rate. By withdrawing in the middle of the trial or even during the early investigation period, the case is counted as a filed and a reported crime, which increases the count of rape crimes and attrition of rape cases but decreases even more the conviction rate. Social views affect reporting rates, attrition rates and conviction rates. The higher the reporting rates are, the more chances there are pushing through with the case. Reporting rates are affected by the perspective of the society on rape and its victims. As the society accepts this, the more a victim will be encouraged to report the incident. The law is also powerful in changing the views of the society regarding the said crime. Although it is affected by social norms, too, it can shape the way how a society accepts norms. Legalizing and defining concepts through laws emphasizes the significance and importance of acceptance of the said issue, and how it can be mitigated and, eventually, eliminated. As law legalizes the proper acceptance level and perspective on the crime of rape and sexual assault, the more the public becomes aware of the significance of the social views on how perpetrators are tried and prosecuted. The laws should also be designed to handle the said cases different from how murder and other serious crimes are handled. Since the crime itself creates psychological and emotional distress on the victim, it is needed to treated with sensitivity and care. Early withdrawal of reported cases are attributed largely to how the questioning of victims are handled. Negative, doubtful and disbelief that can heard in the questioning process should be eliminated so as not to affect the victim adversely. Victims who face disbelieving authorities tend not to pursue their cases as their first-hand experience with law indicates that pushing through with the case will not make any sense as people do not believe her. If the policemen can’t find in their hearts and minds to trust what she complains about, that there is an occurrence of rape, then it would not be possible to increase the reporting rates of the said crime. The negativity surrounding reporting of rape incidences show that the feeling of being oppressed and forced to submission makes the victims feel that they have been victimized all over again. This makes them believe that the society do not accept that their situation is possible to happen and that being questioned and forced to remember the details of the incident makes them feel exploited once again. Because victims want to escape this feeling, they tend to withdraw the case and keep silent about it for fear of rejection, humiliation and even more exploitation. The low conviction rate of the United Kingdom indicates that this is but a real number based on the number of convictions made versus the number of reported rape crimes that were pursued by the victims taken from the larger number of victims who reported the rape incident. This number does not, however, presents the full nature and understanding of the occurrence of the crime. The conviction rate of rape crimes continue not to move because of the unconsidered factors of the proceedings and social views on rape. The experiences and actions of majority of rape victims who reported the crimes discourage other victims to come out and inform the authorities, and the public, of what happened to them. Works Cited Anderson, I. and K. Doherty. Accounting for Rape: Psychology, Feminism and Discourse Analysis in the Study of Sexual Violence. East Sussex: Routledge, 2008. Government Equalities Office. The Stern Review: A Report by Baroness Viven Stern CBE of an Independent Review into How Rape Complaints are Handled by Public Authorities in England and Wales. n.d. Kelly, L., J. Lovett and L. Regan. "A Gap or a Chasm: Attrition in Reported Rape Cases." February 2005. Home Office, Research Development Statistics. 8 May 2010 . Myhill, A. and J. Allen. "Rape and sexual assault of women: findings from the." n.d. Ressearch Development Statistics. 6 May 2010 . Raitt, F. and M.S. Zeedyk. The implicit Relation of Psychology and Law: Women and Syndrome Evidence. London: Routledge, 2000. Temkin, J. Rape and the Legal Process, 2nd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002. Webber, C. Psychology and Crime. London: Sage Publications Ltd., 2010. Read More