Laws Regarding Rape
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Rape Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, carried out against a person without consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person ...
is a type of
sexual assault Sexual assault is an act of sexual abuse in which one intentionally Physical intimacy, sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or Coercion, coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their w ...
initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's
consent Consent occurs when one person voluntarily agrees to the proposal or desires of another. It is a term of common speech, with specific definitions used in such fields as the law, medicine, research, and sexual consent. Consent as understood i ...
. The act may be carried out by physical force, under threat or manipulation, by
impersonation An impersonator is someone who imitates or copies the behavior or actions of another. There are many reasons for impersonating someone: *Living history: After close study of some historical figure, a performer may dress and speak "as" that ...
, or with a person who is incapable of giving valid consent. Definitions of ''
rape Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, carried out against a person without consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person ...
'' vary, but they generally require some degree of
sexual penetration Sexual penetration is the insertion of a body part or other object into a body orifice, such as the mouth, vagina or anus, as part of human sexual activity or sexual behavior in non-human animals. The term is most commonly used in statute la ...
without consent. The term "consent" varies by law as well. Minors, for example, are often considered too young to consent to sexual relations with older persons (see
statutory rape In common law jurisdictions, statutory rape is nonforcible sexual activity in which one of the individuals is below the age of consent (the age required to legally consent to the behaviour). Although it usually refers to adults engaging in sex ...
and
age of consent The age of consent is the age at which a person is considered to be legally competent to consent to Human sexual activity, sexual acts. Consequently, an adult who engages in sexual activity with a person younger than the age of consent is un ...
). Consent is also considered invalid if obtained under
duress Coercion involves compelling a party to act in an involuntary manner through the use of threats, including threats to use force against that party. It involves a set of forceful actions which violate the free will of an individual in order to i ...
, or from a person who does not have the ability to understand the nature of the act, due to factors such as young age, mental disability, or
substance intoxication Substance intoxication is a transient condition of altered consciousness and behavior associated with recent use of a substance. It is often maladaptive and impairing, but reversible. If the symptoms are severe, the term "substance intoxicatio ...
. Many jurisdictions, such as
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
and several US and
Australian states The states and territories are the national subdivisions and second level of government of Australia. The states are partially sovereign, administrative divisions that are self-governing polities, having ceded some sovereign rights to the feder ...
, no longer have a traditional common law offence of rape, which always required that sexual penetration had occurred. Some of these jurisdictions instead have created new statutory offences, such as sexual assault or criminal sexual conduct, which criminalise sexual contact without consent, and without any requirement that sexual intercourse occurred.


Terminology and definitions


Classification

Depending on the jurisdiction, rape may be characterized as a sexual offenceFor example, by the
Sexual Offences Act 1956 The Sexual Offences Act 1956 (4 & 5 Eliz. 2. c. 69) is an Act of Parliament, Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that consolidated the English criminal law relating to sexual offences between 1957 and 2004. It was mostly repealed (from 1 ...
and the Sexual Offences Act 2003
or an offence against the person.For example, by the
Offences against the Person Act 1828 The Offences Against the Person Act 1828 ( 9 Geo. 4. c. 31), also known as Lord Lansdowne's Act, was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that consolidated for England and Wales provisions in the law related to offences against the ...
, the
Offences against the Person Act 1861 The Offences against the Person Act 1861 ( 24 & 25 Vict. c. 100) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that consolidated provisions related to offences against the person (an expression which, in particular, includes offences of ...
and the
Visiting Forces Act 1952 The Visiting Forces Act 1952 ( 15 & 16 Geo. 6 & 1 Eliz. 2. c. 67) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.Section 3provides immunity against prosecution for certain offences in the courts of United Kingdom by members of visiting force ...
Rape may also be characterized as a form of
aggravated assault In the terminology of law, an assault is the act of causing physical harm or unwanted physical contact to another person, or, in some legal definitions, the threat or attempt to do so. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result ...
or battery, or both,
indecent assault Indecent assault is an offence of aggravated assault in some common law-based jurisdictions. It is characterised as a sex crime and has significant overlap with offences referred to as sexual assault. England and Wales Indecent assault was a broa ...
For example, in
England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the Law of the United Kingdom#Legal jurisdictions, three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. Th ...
before the enactment of the Sexual Offences Act 2003: R v Hodgson 973QB 565 (indecent assault on a woman held to be an alternative verdict to rape in a case where the accused was acquitted of rape on grounds of the consent of the victim, who was aged under 16, which was not, by virtue of section 14(2) of the Sexual Offences Act 1956, a defence to indecent assault)
or
sexual assault Sexual assault is an act of sexual abuse in which one intentionally Physical intimacy, sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or Coercion, coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their w ...
For example, in
England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the Law of the United Kingdom#Legal jurisdictions, three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. Th ...
after the enactment of the Sexual Offences Act 2003
or battery, or both.


Actus reus

To sustain a conviction, rape might require proof that the defendant had
sexual penetration Sexual penetration is the insertion of a body part or other object into a body orifice, such as the mouth, vagina or anus, as part of human sexual activity or sexual behavior in non-human animals. The term is most commonly used in statute la ...
with another person. Depending on the jurisdiction, the
actus reus In criminal law, ''actus reus'' (; : ''actus rei''), Latin for "guilty act", is one of the elements normally required to prove commission of a crime in common law jurisdictions, the other being ("guilty mind"). In the United States, it is some ...
of rape may consist of "having carnal knowledge of" a woman,For example, under the
common law Common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law primarily developed through judicial decisions rather than statutes. Although common law may incorporate certain statutes, it is largely based on prece ...
of England, and at common law in
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
or "having
sexual intercourse Sexual intercourse (also coitus or copulation) is a sexual activity typically involving the insertion of the Erection, erect male Human penis, penis inside the female vagina and followed by Pelvic thrust, thrusting motions for sexual pleasure ...
with" a woman (including a girl) specifically,For example, under the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1976 as read with section 46 of the
Sexual Offences Act 1956 The Sexual Offences Act 1956 (4 & 5 Eliz. 2. c. 69) is an Act of Parliament, Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that consolidated the English criminal law relating to sexual offences between 1957 and 2004. It was mostly repealed (from 1 ...
or either a woman or a man (including a girl or a boy) generally,For example, under section 1 of the
Sexual Offences Act 1956 The Sexual Offences Act 1956 (4 & 5 Eliz. 2. c. 69) is an Act of Parliament, Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that consolidated the English criminal law relating to sexual offences between 1957 and 2004. It was mostly repealed (from 1 ...
, as substituted by section 142 of the
Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 The Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 (c. 33) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It introduced a number of changes to the law, most notably in the restriction and reduction of existing rights, clamping down on unlicensed ...
, and read with section 46 of the former mentioned Act
or engaging in sexual intercourse with a person (which term includes an
intersex Intersex people are those born with any of several sex characteristics, including chromosome patterns, gonads, or genitals that, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, "do not fit typical binar ...
person who might arguably be neither a woman nor a man)For example, under section 261 of the California Penal Code, or having "sexual connection" with a person affected by penile penetration of that person's genitalia,For example, under section 128(2) of the
Crimes Act 1961 The Crimes Act 1961 is an act of New Zealand Parliament that forms a leading part of the criminal law in New Zealand. It repeals the Crimes Act 1908, itself a successor of the Criminal Code Act 1893. Most crimes in New Zealand are created by t ...
or penile penetration of the vagina, anus or mouth (these terms construed as including surgically constructed organs) of a person.For example, under section 1 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 In ''Prosecutor v. Anto Furundžija'', the
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was a body of the United Nations that was established to prosecute the war crimes in the Yugoslav Wars, war crimes that had been committed during the Yugoslav Wars and to tr ...
included
fellatio Fellatio (also known as fellation, and in slang as blowjob, BJ, giving head, or sucking off) is an oral sex act consisting of the stimulation of a human penis, penis by using the mouth. Oral stimulation of the scrotum may also be termed ''fellat ...
in the definition of rape, because ara 183 "The Trial Chamber holds that the forced penetration of the mouth by the male sexual organ constitutes a most humiliating and degrading attack upon human dignity. The essence of the whole corpus of international humanitarian law as well as human rights law lies in the protection of the human dignity of every person, whatever his or her gender."


Mens rea

Countries around the world differ in how they deal with the
mens rea In criminal law, (; Law Latin for "guilty mind") is the mental state of a defendant who is accused of committing a crime. In common law jurisdictions, most crimes require proof both of ''mens rea'' and '' actus reus'' ("guilty act") before th ...
element in the law regarding rape, (i.e. the belief of the accused that the victim is not consenting or might not be consenting), and in how they place the onus of proof with regard to belief of consent. For example, under the Sexual Offences Act 2003, the belief must be "reasonable" and "Whether a belief is reasonable is to be determined having regard to all the circumstances, including any steps A has taken to ascertain whether B consents." In some jurisdictions the mens rea is quite complex, such as in
New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
, where the law reads: The Explanatory Report of the Istanbul Convention, states at para 189: "The interpretation of the word 'intentionally' is left to domestic law, but the requirement for intentional conduct relates to all the elements of the offence." n regard to Article 36 of the convention – Sexual violence, including rape


Attendant circumstances

Rape has been defined so as to require proof that the sexual act in question was done without the victim's
consent Consent occurs when one person voluntarily agrees to the proposal or desires of another. It is a term of common speech, with specific definitions used in such fields as the law, medicine, research, and sexual consent. Consent as understood i ...
,For example, by section 1 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 or so as to require proof that it was done either without their consent or, alternatively, against their will.For example, by section 261 of the California Penal Code There is not always a requirement that the victim did not consent. In the England and Wales, section 5 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 creates the offence of "rape of a child under 13" and contains no reference to consent. After describing the sexual act the offence prohibits, the explanatory notes to the Act say "whether or not the child consented to this act is irrelevant." In '' M. C. v. Bulgaria'', the
European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The court hears applications alleging that a co ...
ruled that the victim does not necessarily have to resist physically for the crime of rape to be committed ara 166 Some circumstances, such as where the victim is kidnapped or in detention, or under conditions of war or genocide, may be viewed as so coercive, that they presume non-consent altogether; for example in ''ICTY, The Prosecutor v. Kunarac, Kovac and Vukovic'', it was ruled, in regard to the rape during the Bosnian War, where women were kept in detention centers, under extremely harsh conditions, and were selected for sex by soldiers and policemen, that ara 132 "Such detentions amount to circumstances that were so coercive as to negate any possibility of consent." The issue arises in law as who can legally consent, for example with regard to persons who suffer from mental or physical disability. Although laws differ by jurisdiction, emerging international standards suggest that a person's mental or physical disability, should not, ''in and of itself'', render the sexual interaction illegal, but rather ''the exploitation or abuse'' of such disability by the perpetrator should do so: in the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
, the ''Directive 2011/93/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2011'' reads (with regard to the determination of legal consent of a child who is above the
age of consent The age of consent is the age at which a person is considered to be legally competent to consent to Human sexual activity, sexual acts. Consequently, an adult who engages in sexual activity with a person younger than the age of consent is un ...
): "(10) Disability, by itself, does not automatically constitute an impossibility to consent to sexual relations. However, the abuse of the existence of such a disability in order to engage in sexual activities with a child should be criminalised."


Redefinitions and statute


General

From the second part of the 20th century onwards, the crime of rape has undergone major changes in definition in many countries, especially in
Western countries The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to various nations and states in Western Europe, Northern America, and Australasia; with some debate as to whether those in Eastern Europe and Latin America also constitute the West. ...
. It has evolved from its narrow traditional definition of forced penetration of a vagina by a penis, outside of
marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
, to a broader definition, which includes forced sex in marriage (
marital rape Marital rape or spousal rape is the act of sexual intercourse with one's spouse without the spouse's consent. The lack of consent is the essential element and doesn't always involve physical violence. Marital rape is considered a form of dome ...
), and may also include other sexual acts (such as anal or
oral The word oral may refer to: Relating to the mouth * Relating to the mouth, the first portion of the alimentary canal that primarily receives food and liquid **Oral administration of medicines ** Oral examination (also known as an oral exam or ora ...
sexual penetration); the latter were traditionally dealt with under
sodomy law A sodomy law is a law that defines certain sexual acts as crimes. The precise sexual acts meant by the term ''sodomy'' are rarely spelled out in the law, but are typically understood and defined by many courts and jurisdictions to include any ...
s. This redefinition of rape had the effect of defining
male rape Some victims of rape or other sexual violence incidents are male. Historically, rape was thought to be, and defined as, a crime committed solely against females. This belief is still held in some parts of the world, but rape of males is now com ...
. There have also been changes in the legal definition of consent/coercion. Two different changes have been made in recent decades in many jurisdictions in regard to the criminal offense of rape as it relates to marital status: *the criminalization of rape between spouses ('marital rape'). *the removal of the stipulation that, if after the act of rape the victim and the perpetrator marry each other, the prosecution ends ('marry-your-rapist law').


Marital rape

Throughout much of the history, rape in marriage was not a crime. Most cultures subscribed to the idea of the existence of 'conjugal rights' to sexual intercourse with one's spouse, and, until well into the 20th century, most legal systems generally accepted, overtly or tacitly, that such 'rights' could be taken by force, against the will of the wife. Traditional understanding and views of marriage, rape,
sexuality Human sexuality is the way people experience and express themselves sexually. This involves biological, psychological, physical, erotic, emotional, social, or spiritual feelings and behaviors. Because it is a broad term, which has varied ...
,
gender roles A gender role, or sex role, is a social norm deemed appropriate or desirable for individuals based on their gender or sex. Gender roles are usually centered on conceptions of masculinity and femininity. The specifics regarding these gende ...
and
self determination Self-determination refers to a people's right to form its own political entity, and internal self-determination is the right to representative government with full suffrage. Self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international la ...
have started to be challenged in most Western countries during the 1960s and 1970s, which has led to the subsequent criminalization of marital rape during the following decades. With a few notable exceptions, it was during the past 30 years when most laws against marital rape have been enacted. Several countries in
Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...
and
Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...
made spousal rape illegal before 1970, but other countries in Western Europe and the English-speaking
Western World The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to various nations and state (polity), states in Western Europe, Northern America, and Australasia; with some debate as to whether those in Eastern Europe and Latin America also const ...
outlawed it much later, mostly in the 1980s and 1990s. Marital rape is included in the 1993 Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women as a form of
violence against women Violence against women (VAW), also known as gender-based violence (GBV) or sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), violent, violence primarily committed by Man, men or boys against woman, women or girls. Such violence is often considered hat ...
, which reads: It is also included in the Council of Europe Recommendation Rec(2002)5 of the Committee of Ministers to member states on the protection of women against violence, which reads: In addition, the
World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...
, defines sexual violence as: "any sexual act, attempt to obtain a sexual act, unwanted sexual comments or advances, or acts to traffic, or otherwise directed, against a person's sexuality using coercion, ''by any person regardless of their relationship to the victim'', in any setting, including but not limited to home and work." The countries which choose to ratify the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, the first legally binding instrument in Europe in the field of violence against women, are bound by its provisions to ensure that non-consensual sexual acts committed against a spouse or partner are illegal. The convention came into force in August 2014.


Marry-your-rapist laws

A marry-your-rapist law or rape-marriage law states that a rapist will not be prosecuted if they marry their victim. Although the terms for this phenomenon were only coined in the 2010s, the practice has been supported by the rape laws in many legal systems throughout history. In the late 20th and early 21st century, the remaining laws of this type were increasingly challenged and repealed in a series of countries.


As a crime of abduction

Originally, in
Ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...
, 'rape' was a crime-defining primarily the act of a male abducting a female without the consent of the man under whose authority she was (typically father or husband); sexual intercourse was not necessary. Furthermore, in many legal systems (such as 17th century France) the consent of the woman to sexual intercourse was not a defense – the act was still a crime if done without the consent of her father. While the laws on rape differed by historical period and culture, some elements were common to most jurisdictions until the second part of the 20th century (when rape laws underwent major changes): "rape" was a crime that could be committed only between parties who were not married to each other, and only by a male against a female.


Punishment


Punishment of assailants

Punishment for rape in most countries today is imprisonment. Controversially, some U.S. jurisdictions allow shorter sentences for sex criminals who agree to voluntary
chemical castration Chemical castration is castration via anaphrodisiac drugs, whether to reduce libido and sexual activity, management of cancer, to treat cancer, or otherwise. Unlike orchiectomy, surgical castration, where the gonads are removed through an incision ...
. In the past, rape was often punished with death, and it is punishable by death in at least nine countries today:
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
,
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
,
United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...
,
Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
,
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
,
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...
,
Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
, and
North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...
. In some of these instances, special circumstances apply. For example, rape is only punishable by death in India if the victim dies or is put in a persistent vegetative state, and/or if the rapist is a repeat offender, and in Iran, a death sentence for rape can be substituted with compensation, with or without imprisonment and flogging, if the victim so chooses. In 1977, in '' Coker v. Georgia'' the
Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...
held that the death penalty for the crime of rape of an adult woman was cruel and unusual punishment, and thus banned it as a violation of the
Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution The Eighth Amendment (Amendment VIII) to the United States Constitution protects against imposing excessive bail, excessive fines, or cruel and unusual punishments. This amendment was adopted on December 15, 1791, along with the rest of the ...
. In 2008 in '' Kennedy v. Louisiana'' it ruled the same in regard to rape of a child. Prison sentences for rape are not uniform. A study made by the
U.S. Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of federal laws and the administration of justice. It is equi ...
of prison releases in 1992, involving about 80 percent of the prison population, found that the average sentence for convicted rapists was 9.8 years, while the actual time served was 5.4 years. This follows the typical pattern of violent crimes in the US, where those convicted typically serve no more than half of their sentence. Between 2002 and 2003, more than one in ten convicted rapists in Victoria, Australia, served a wholly
suspended sentence A suspended sentence is a sentence on conviction for a criminal offence, the serving of which the court orders to be deferred in order to allow the defendant to perform a period of probation. If the defendant does not break the law during that ...
, and the average total effective sentence for rape was seven years. In the
Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...
, the average sentence given for rape is 5–7 years.


Punishment of victims

Some societies punish the victims of rape as well as the perpetrators. According to such cultures, being raped dishonors the victim and, in many cases, the victim's family. In some countries (e.g. Libya, Afghanistan) rape victims are sometimes killed to restore honor to the family's name. Certain cultures have historically promoted a system of
honor Honour ( Commonwealth English) or honor (American English; see spelling differences) is a quality of a person that is of both social teaching and personal ethos, that manifests itself as a code of conduct, and has various elements such as val ...
, dishonor, and shame, which was applied with particular strictness to females. A victim of rape would be considered to have lost her honorable reputation and place in society, a loss of honor which entailed
shame Shame is an unpleasant self-conscious emotion often associated with negative self-evaluation; motivation to quit; and feelings of pain, exposure, distrust, powerlessness, and worthlessness. Definition Shame is a discrete, basic emotion, d ...
on the woman's family group as well. In early
ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...
,
ancient China The history of China spans several millennia across a wide geographical area. Each region now considered part of the Chinese world has experienced periods of unity, fracture, prosperity, and strife. Chinese civilization first emerged in the Y ...
, and other cultures, a pressure has existed which has led women to commit suicide after becoming victims of rape. In the
Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...
drama ''
Titus Andronicus ''The Lamentable Tragedy of Titus Andronicus'', often shortened to ''Titus Andronicus'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1588 and 1593. It is thought to be Shakespeare's first t ...
'', the title character kills his raped, maimed daughter in what he believes to be a mercy killing. Likewise, the suicide of female rape victims for reasons of shame is also historically documented in Chinese and Japanese culture. In countries which outlaw
fornication Fornication generally refers to consensual sexual intercourse between two people who are not married to each other. When a married person has consensual sexual relations with one or more partners whom they are not married to, it is called adu ...
or
adultery Adultery is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal consequences, the concept ...
, rape victims may become subject to these laws (if they cannot prove the rape case and/or if it is revealed they were not virgins at the time of the assault – in the case of unmarried victims).


International guidelines, recommendations, and obligations

In recent years, there have been various guidelines and recommendations from international
human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...
organizations in regard to rape and sexual violence. One view that is advanced is that the offense of 'rape' should be replaced with a broader offense of "sexual assault." For instance, the ''Handbook for Legislation on Violence against Women'' from the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs Division for the Advancement of Women gives these suggestions about legislation on sexual violence: The Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, also known as the Istanbul Convention, which creates legally binding obligations for countries which choose to ratify it, reads:


Laws by country


Common law countries

Rape was an offense under the
common law Common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law primarily developed through judicial decisions rather than statutes. Although common law may incorporate certain statutes, it is largely based on prece ...
of England. That offense became an offense under the law of other countries, including Australia and the United States, as a result of colonization or conquest, or the following cession (see
British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...
). It is discussed at . Under this law, rape traditionally describes the act of a male forcing a female to have sexual intercourse (sexual penetration of the vagina by the penis) with him. Common law rape required the utmost physical resistance by the victim, as well as substantial force by the defendant. Until the late twentieth century, spousal rape was not considered a true rape case because both spouses were deemed to have consented to a lifelong sexual relationship through the wedding vows. However, with changes to the marital rape exemption, as well as with the significant development of women's rights, the belief of a marital right to force sexual intercourse has become less widely held. Rape was also an offense at common law in
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
. This offense was not derived from the English offense as Scotland retained its own system of criminal law under the terms of the
Acts of Union 1707 The Acts of Union refer to two acts of Parliament, one by the Parliament of Scotland in March 1707, followed shortly thereafter by an equivalent act of the Parliament of England. They put into effect the international Treaty of Union agree ...
.


Bhutan

Chapter 14 (Sexual Offenses) of the 2004 Penal Code of Bhutan outlaws rape and other sexual offenses. Under the criminal code, there are several categories of rape, which are punished differently, depending on factors such as the age of the victim, the relationship between the victim and the perpetrator, the number of participants (gang rape), whether the victim was pregnant, whether injury occurred.
Marital rape Marital rape or spousal rape is the act of sexual intercourse with one's spouse without the spouse's consent. The lack of consent is the essential element and doesn't always involve physical violence. Marital rape is considered a form of dome ...
is also recognized as an offense under the 2004 laws, being classified as a petty misdemeanour. The most serious form of rape is
gang rape In scholarly literature and criminology, gang rape, also called serial gang rape, party rape, group rape, or multiple perpetrator rape,Ullman, S. E. (2013). 11 Multiple perpetrator rape victimization. Handbook on the Study of Multiple Perpetrato ...
of a child under twelve years of age, classified as a felony of the first degree. The most serious sexual offense is gang rape of a child under 12. Marital rape is illegal:


Canada

The
Criminal Code A criminal code or penal code is a document that compiles all, or a significant amount of, a particular jurisdiction's criminal law. Typically a criminal code will contain offences that are recognised in the jurisdiction, penalties that might ...
does not contain an offence of "rape," which historically required proof of penile penetration for a conviction. Instead, the law criminalizes "sexual assault," which is defined as sexual contact with another person without that other person's consent. The offence of sexual assault is broader than the historical offence of rape. Proof of penetration is not required to ground the offence of sexual assault, nor is the offence gender specific. Consent is defined in section 273.1(1) of the Criminal Code as "the voluntary agreement of the complainant to engage in the sexual activity in question."


France

In the any act of sexual penetration, whatever its nature, committed against another person or on the perpetrator, by violence, constraint, threat or surprise, is rape. Rape is punished by a maximum of fifteen years' criminal imprisonment. Rape is punished by a maximum of twenty years' criminal imprisonment in certain aggravating factors (including victim under age of 15). Rape is punished by a maximum of thirty years' criminal imprisonment where it caused the death of the victim. Rape is punished by a maximum of imprisonment for life when it is preceded, accompanied or followed by torture or acts of barbarity.


Ireland

In Republic of Ireland law, there are two separate offences of rape:DJELR 1998 p.123 * "rape t common law" restricted to vaginal penetration by penis *"rape under section 4 f the Criminal Law (Rape) (Amendment) Act 1990 as amended" for anal or oral penetration by penis, or vaginal penetration by inanimate object The offences have the same penalty, of
life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence (law), sentence of imprisonment under which the convicted individual is to remain incarcerated for the rest of their natural life (or until pardoned or commuted to a fixed term). Crimes that result in life impr ...
, and the same provisions regarding conduct of trials, except that rape under section 4 is an alternative verdict in a rape trial, but not conversely. The common law offence was codified by the
Offences against the Person Act 1861 The Offences against the Person Act 1861 ( 24 & 25 Vict. c. 100) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that consolidated provisions related to offences against the person (an expression which, in particular, includes offences of ...
and the Criminal Law (Rape) Act 1981. A statutory definition was introduced by section 2(1) of the 1981 act;DJELR 1998 §3.3.1 as amended it states: The act also restricted reference to the alleged victim's past sexual history, and provided anonymity for both parties. Originally, the act referred to "''unlawful'' sexual intercourse"; the word ''unlawful'', intended to preserve the exemption for
marital rape Marital rape or spousal rape is the act of sexual intercourse with one's spouse without the spouse's consent. The lack of consent is the essential element and doesn't always involve physical violence. Marital rape is considered a form of dome ...
, was deleted by the 1990 act.DJELR 1998 §3.3.2 Section 4 of the 1990 act defines "rape under section 4" as follows: By section 2 of the 1990 act, "
sexual assault Sexual assault is an act of sexual abuse in which one intentionally Physical intimacy, sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or Coercion, coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their w ...
" is defined in terms of "
indecent assault Indecent assault is an offence of aggravated assault in some common law-based jurisdictions. It is characterised as a sex crime and has significant overlap with offences referred to as sexual assault. England and Wales Indecent assault was a broa ...
," which is not otherwise defined. The 1988 Law Reform Commission (LRC) report on "rape and allied offences," on which the 1990 act was based, recommended expanding the common-law definition rather than creating a new offence, and the inclusion of penetration of the anus in the scope of section 4(b). The 1990 act mandated that trials for both rape offences be at the Central Criminal Court, removed the rule that males under 14 were considered incapable of sexual offences, and relaxed the obligation to warn the jury about an alleged victim's uncorroborated testimony. It also specifies that failure to offer resistance is not evidence of
consent Consent occurs when one person voluntarily agrees to the proposal or desires of another. It is a term of common speech, with specific definitions used in such fields as the law, medicine, research, and sexual consent. Consent as understood i ...
.


Greece

Penal Code, Art. 336 par. 1 creates the offence of rape. It reads: In 2019 a new paragraph was added (Art. 336 par. 5), practically making lack of consent the sole criterion for rape. It reads: Marital rape was made illegal in 2006.


Guatemala

The 2009 ''Law against Sexual Violence, Exploitation, and Trafficking in Persons'' defines rape as follows:


India

In 2019, the Indian Supreme Court ruled that sex on a false promise of marriage constitutes
rape Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, carried out against a person without consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person ...
.


Iran

In Iran, the sentence for a rape case is death by hanging in public squares or prisons.


Israel

In
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
, the definition of the criminal offence of rape is as follows:


New Zealand

Rape is part of the statutory offence of sexual violation. Sexual violation is created by section 128 of the
Crimes Act 1961 The Crimes Act 1961 is an act of New Zealand Parliament that forms a leading part of the criminal law in New Zealand. It repeals the Crimes Act 1908, itself a successor of the Criminal Code Act 1893. Most crimes in New Zealand are created by t ...
. Sexual violation is defined as follows:


Consent

A person allowing sexual connection to be performed on them does not automatically mean that they are legally ''consenting''. If that person allows sexual connection due to coercion (e.g., under force, threats or fear of force; when he/she is asleep or affected by alcohol or a drug; if he/she is affected by an intellectual, mental, or physical condition or impairment of a certain nature and degree; when he/she is mistaken about the partner's identity), then he/she is not legally consenting. ''Attempted sexual violation and assault with intent to commit sexual violation'' are also punished (Article 129). Article 129A is entitled ''Sexual conduct with consent induced by certain threats'' and makes it illegal for a person to have sexual connection with another person or to do an indecent act on another person when the accused knows that the other person has been induced to consent to the connection/act by threat. However, a person is guilty of this crime "if (and only if) he or she knows that the other person has been induced to consent" to the sexual connection/indecent act "by an express or implied threat." Subsection (5), (a), (b), (c) of this article defines "threat" for the purpose of this article. Article 135 outlaws ''Indecent assault''. Article 138 outlaws ''Sexual exploitation of a person with a significant impairment''.


Norway

In Norway, rape is defined under the Norwegian Penal Code § 192 as either: # engaging in sexual activity by means of violence or threatening behaviour, # engaging in sexual activity with somebody who is unconscious or for any other reason incapable of resisting the act, or # by means of violence or threatening behaviour compelling any person to engage in sexual activity with another person, or to carry out similar actions with him or herself. When any of these circumstances occur, a person guilty of rape is punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment. However, if a person is guilty of rape through
gross negligence Gross negligence is the "lack of slight diligence or care" or "a conscious, voluntary act or omission in reckless disregard of a legal duty and of the consequences to another party." In some jurisdictions a person injured as a result of gross neg ...
he or she is liable to imprisonment for a period not exceeding five years. If the activity in question was sexual intercourse or the offender has rendered a person unconscious or unable to resist the sexual activity, the penalty imposed shall be no less than three years imprisonment. Further, the same section defines ''aggravated rape'' as a rape committed The section recognizes
sexually transmitted infection A sexually transmitted infection (STI), also referred to as a sexually transmitted disease (STD) and the older term venereal disease (VD), is an infection that is Transmission (medicine), spread by Human sexual activity, sexual activity, e ...
s (defined in the ''Infection Protection Act'') as grievous bodily harm.


Philippines

Article 266-A of the Revised Penal Code (Title Eight of Act No. 3815) provides that: Chapter 3 of this Code, which relates to rape, was inserted by the Anti-Rape Law of 1997. By section 2 of that Act, the crime of rape is classified as a crime against persons under that Code. On March 3, 2022, Republic Act (RA) No. 11648 was signed and it changed the definition of rape into "By a person who shall have carnal knowledge of another person", effectively making male rape a crime.


Russia

According to Article 131 of the
Criminal Code of Russia The Russian Criminal Code () is the prime source of the Law of the Russian Federation concerning criminal offences. The 1996 Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (UGKRF) came into force on 1 January 1997. The new Criminal Code replaced the So ...
, rape is defined as heterosexual vaginal intercourse using violence or threat of violence or if the victim is in a helpless state. The other forms of a violent sexual intercourse (male–male, female–male, female–female and non-vaginal male–female) are called "coercive sexual actions" and are punishable by Article 132. These two crimes, however, are punishable identically. Besides, such crimes as sexual relations with a person under the age of consent (16 years as of 2013, article 134) and depraved actions (Article 135), if committed against a person under 12 years since 2012 are considered rape or coercive sexual actions (depending on sex of the offender and the victim and the type of intercourse) and punished according to articles 131 or 132, because such victim is deemed to be in a helpless state due to his/her age. However, Article 134 punishes sexual activity between same-sex pairings ''more'' harshly than sexual activity between opposite-sex pairings when one of the persons is under 16 years old. Rape or coercive sexual actions without any aggravating circumstances are punishable with 3 to 6 years of imprisonment. If the crime: * was committed repeatedly (against one or more than one victim) * was committed by a group of criminals * was committed with a threat of murder or grievous harm to health * was committed with particular cruelty (e.g. the criminal used violence that caused severe physical pain or the crime was committed in presence of relatives of the victim) * caused an STD infection then it is punishable with 4 to 10 years of imprisonment with possible subsequent restraint of liberty for up to 2 years (i.e. the criminal may not change or leave residence without permission and must register himself at local penal inspectorate 1 to 4 times a month; court may also impose additional restrictions such as the criminal may not leave home in certain hours, visit certain locations, change work without permission). If the crime * was committed against a person between 14 and 18 years * caused grievous harm to health, HIV infection or other grievous consequences (e.g. suicide of the victim) then it is punishable with 8 to 15 years of imprisonment with the subsequent mandatory restraint of liberty for up to 2 years and a possible ban on certain occupations or employment positions for up to 20 years. If the crime * caused the death of the victim by inadvertency * was committed against a person under 14 years then it is punishable with 12 to 20 years of imprisonment with the subsequent mandatory restraint of liberty for up to 2 years and a possible ban on certain occupations or employment positions for up to 20 years. If the crime was committed against a person under 14 years by the criminal who had previously been sentenced for a sexual crime against a minor then it is punishable with 15 to 20 years of imprisonment with mandatory ban on certain occupations or employment positions for up to 20 years or with life imprisonment.


Slovakia

Law no. 300/2005 - Criminal law Paragraph 199


South Africa

In South Africa, rape is defined by the
Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act, 2007 The Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act, 2007 (Act No. 32 of 2007; also referred to as the Sexual Offences Act) is an act of the Parliament of South Africa that reformed and codified the law relating to sex offence ...
(Act No. 32 of 2007). This act abolished the
common law Common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law primarily developed through judicial decisions rather than statutes. Although common law may incorporate certain statutes, it is largely based on prece ...
offence of rape and replaced it with a new expanded statutory offence of rape, applicable to all forms of sexual penetration without consent, irrespective of gender. Rape is defined in section 3 of the act as follows: and "sexual penetration" is defined as: The law also clarifies that marital rape is illegal; section 56 of the Act provides that:


Switzerland

Rape is defined as follows: Marital rape was made illegal in 1992, and since 2004 marital rape is prosecutable ''ex officio'' (meaning it can be prosecuted even if the wife does not complain). Rape of a male is considered a heavy sexual assault/thread and is prosecuted under Art. 189 of the Swiss Penalty Code.


Trinidad and Tobago

Rape under the law of
Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...
is an
indictable offence In many common law jurisdictions (e.g. England and Wales, Ireland, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore), an indictable offence is an offence which can only be tried on an indictment after a preliminary hearing ...
, created by section 4 of the Sexual Offenses Act: Marital rape is also illegal; subsection (5) states: "(5) This section also applies to a husband in relation to the commission of the offence of rape on his wife."


United Kingdom


England and Wales

Rape was formerly a common law offence, with a statutory penalty first given by the
Offences against the Person Act 1861 The Offences against the Person Act 1861 ( 24 & 25 Vict. c. 100) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that consolidated provisions related to offences against the person (an expression which, in particular, includes offences of ...
, and given a statutory definition by the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1976. This has itself been superseded by the Sexual Offences Act 2003. Rape is currently defined, in section 1 of that act, as follows: It follows that it is not possible for a person who does not have a penis to commit rape. (By general rules of statutory interpretation "words importing the masculine gender include the feminine," so the use of the male pronoun does not preclude a person who is legally recognized as female being convicted of rape.) Section 2 of that act defines ''assault by penetration'': Both are
indictable offence In many common law jurisdictions (e.g. England and Wales, Ireland, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore), an indictable offence is an offence which can only be tried on an indictment after a preliminary hearing ...
s carrying a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. Rape by a woman (where it does not involve penetration of the victim) falls under the more general section 4, ''Causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent'', and/or section 3, ''Sexual assault'' (sexual touching without consent), both either way offences with a maximum sentence of 10 years' imprisonment. Other sections create parallel offences where the victim is under 16 years of age; in these cases, consent is irrelevant.


Northern Ireland

The law on sexual offences closely follows that of England. Rape is a statutory offence created by article 5 of the
Sexual Offences (Northern Ireland) Order 2008 The Sexual Offences (Northern Ireland) Order 2008 (SI 2008/1769) (NI 2) is an Order in Council made under section 85 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998. The Order provides a legislative framework for sexual offences in Northern Ireland. The correspo ...
(S.I. 1769/2008 (N.I. 2)), which contains the same definition as in England. Likewise assault by penetration, sexual assault, causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent, and child sex offences are copied from the Sexual Offences Act 2003. Pursuant to article 5(5), any reference to rape in a statutory provision must be construed in accordance with article 5(1). No person is liable in
tort A tort is a civil wrong, other than breach of contract, that causes a claimant to suffer loss or harm, resulting in legal liability for the person who commits the tortious act. Tort law can be contrasted with criminal law, which deals with cri ...
under the law of
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
on the ground only of having deprived another of the services of his female servant by raping her.


Scotland

Rape is a statutory offence. It is created by section 1 of the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009. It is defined as follows: Subsection (2) defines that "penetration" involves a penis. Similarly to the English law, this act also creates various child sex offences in which consent is irrelevant if the victim is under 16. "Rape of a young child" under section 18 applies only if the child is under 13; otherwise it is "having intercourse with an older child."


=History

= Prior to the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009, rape in
Scots law Scots law () is the List of country legal systems, legal system of Scotland. It is a hybrid or mixed legal system containing Civil law (legal system), civil law and common law elements, that traces its roots to a number of different histori ...
differed from the definition of rape in other legal systems. In
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
, rape was defined as "a crime at
common law Common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law primarily developed through judicial decisions rather than statutes. Although common law may incorporate certain statutes, it is largely based on prece ...
which consisted of the carnal knowledge of a female by a male person without her consent." Under Scots law, rape could only be carried out by a male who penetrated a female's vagina. If a man's anus was penetrated by another man's penis, this was called
sodomy Sodomy (), also called buggery in British English, principally refers to either anal sex (but occasionally also oral sex) between people, or any Human sexual activity, sexual activity between a human and another animal (Zoophilia, bestiality). I ...
and was tried under indecent assault, a form of aggravated assault. Likewise, if a male penetrated a female's anus by his penis without her consent, he would also be charged with indecent assault. In Scotland, rape can only be prosecuted in the
High Court of Justiciary The High Court of Justiciary () is the supreme criminal court in Scotland. The High Court is both a trial court and a court of appeal. As a trial court, the High Court sits on circuit at Parliament House or in the adjacent former Sheriff C ...
and if convicted, the maximum penalty available to the court is life imprisonment. Evidence of distress can be used as corroborating evidence. Evidence of distress would be recognised by the first person or friend that the victim sees after the event. This should not be confused with
hearsay Hearsay, in a legal forum, is an out-of-court statement which is being offered in court for the truth of what was asserted. In most courts, hearsay evidence is Inadmissible evidence, inadmissible (the "hearsay evidence rule") unless an exception ...
evidence, which is not normally allowed to be led. One of the key elements to prosecute a male for rape is to prove that the male had sexual intercourse without the female's consent. For sexual intercourse not to be rape, the ''active'' consent of the female is needed. This means it is not enough for a woman to be "passive;" she must actively consent. This was established by '' Lord Advocate's Reference (No. 1 of 2001)''. Therefore, a male could still be convicted of rape, even though the female did not say anything or show any resistance. This is a change in the law, as previously men who had sexual intercourse with sleeping women (as in the case of Charles Sweenie) or women who were unconscious due to voluntarily taking drugs or alcohol (see ''HMA v Logan'') were charged with the lesser crime of indecent assault, rather than rape, as they had not used force to achieve penetration. ''Lord Advocate's Reference (No 1 of 2001)'', by requiring "active consent," had opened up the law to decide whether a voluntarily drunk or intoxicated woman can consent to sexual intercourse. This was clarified under the new laws of 2009 which state that sexual intercourse is non-consensual, and therefore considered rape if it occurs Penetration is sufficient for a sexual intercourse to be deemed rape: there need not be any excretion of semen and the female's
hymen The hymen is a thin piece of mucosal tissue that surrounds or partially covers the vaginal opening. A small percentage of females are born with hymens that are imperforate and completely obstruct the vaginal canal. It forms part of the vulva ...
does not have to be ruptured. In
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
, rape continued to be a gender-specific crime until the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009. This Act came into force on 1 December 2010. The Act expanded the definition of rape to include
male rape Some victims of rape or other sexual violence incidents are male. Historically, rape was thought to be, and defined as, a crime committed solely against females. This belief is still held in some parts of the world, but rape of males is now com ...
. The victims' commissioner for England and Wales, Dame Vera Baird, warned in 2020 that only 14 per cent of sexual violence victims report the assault to police. And even if sexual assault and rape are reported, prosecutions and convictions remain depressingly low. In Britain, only 1.6 per cent of rapes reported to the police result in a charge – a rate so low that Baird, has said that "we are witnessing the decriminalisation of rape."


United States


State laws

There is no federal rape law in the United States, due to the '' United States v. Morrison'' ruling that parts of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 were unconstitutional. Each state has its own laws concerning sexual aggression, some laws from the founding of the US and during the 1950s were based in racial discrimination against
black people Black is a racial classification of people, usually a political and skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid- to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have dark skin and often additional phenotypical ...
, in labelling consensual sex between a black man and white woman rape, and the fact that rape laws at the time did not apply when the victim was a black woman.Maschke, Karen J. ''The Legal Response to Violence against Women''. New York: Garland, 1997. There is also no national standard in the US for defining and reporting male–male or female-perpetrated rapes. State laws vary considerably, and in most states, the term "rape" is no longer used, and the offense has been replaced by crimes such as "
sexual assault Sexual assault is an act of sexual abuse in which one intentionally Physical intimacy, sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or Coercion, coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their w ...
," " criminal sexual conduct," "sexual abuse," " sexual battery" etc. The US laws on
sexual violence Sexual violence is any harmful or unwanted Human sexual activity, sexual act, an attempt to obtain a sexual act through violence or coercion, or an act directed against a person's sexuality without their consent, by any individual regardless of ...
are complex, with states having numerous sex offenses, dealing with different situations. The laws on sex crimes have been changed and modernized significantly during the last decades and they continue to change.


Uniform Code of Military Justice

Uniform Code of Military Justice The Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) is the foundation of the system of military justice of the armed forces of the United States. The UCMJ was established by the United States Congress in accordance with their constitutional authority ...
SC Title 10, Subtitle A, Chapter 47X, Section 920, Article 120defines rape as: Marital rape is banned; the law states: "Marriage is not a defense for any conduct in issue in any prosecution under this section."


Rape reporting

According to the ''
USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...
'' reporter Kevin Johnson, "no other major category of crime – not murder, assault or robbery – has generated a more serious challenge to the credibility of national crime statistics" as has the crime of rape. He says: The FBI's report fails to report rapes with male victims, both adults and children, fails to report non-forcible rapes of either gender ''by either gender'', and reflects only the number of rapes reported to police. The Justice Department's survey solicits information from people 12 and older, excluding the youngest victims of rape (and
incest Incest ( ) is sexual intercourse, sex between kinship, close relatives, for example a brother, sister, or parent. This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by lineag ...
). However, by using a random national telephone survey of households, the National Crime Victimization Survey could pick up rapes unreported to the police. In addition, since both official reports collect rape data from states with widely divergent standards and definitions on what constitutes rape, uniform reporting is impossible. In an attempt to improve the tracking of rape, the National Violence Against Women survey was first published in 1998 by the National Institute of Justice and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Its authors acknowledged that they used different methodologies with relatively high margins of error. The 2000 report notes that "because annual rape
victimization Victimisation ( or victimization) is the state or process of being victimised or becoming a victim. The field that studies the process, rates, incidence, effects, and prevalence of victimisation is called victimology. Peer victimisation Peer ...
estimates (''nationwide'') are based on responses from ''only 24 women and 8 men'' (emphasis added) who reported being raped, they should be viewed with caution." It goes on to note that it fails to report rapes perpetrated against children, adolescents, the homeless, or people living in institutions, group facilities, or in households without telephones. The 2006 report of the National Violence Against Women survey was based on the much larger sample size of 8,000 men and 8,000 women. It estimated that "17.7 million women and 2.8 million men in the United States were forcibly raped at some time in their lives, with 302,091 women and 92,748 men forcibly raped in the year preceding the survey." The report defines "rape" to include completed and attempted rapes. However, the vast majority of rapes were completed: "Among all respondents, 14.8 percent of the women and 2.1 percent of the men said they were victims of a completed rape at some time in their life, whereas 2.8 percent of the women and 0.9 percent of the men said they were victims of an attempted rape only." In addition, many states define sexual crimes other than male-on-female penetration as sexual assault rather than rape. There are no national standards for defining and reporting male-on-male, female-on-female or female-on-male offenses, so such crimes are generally not included in rape statistics unless these statistics are compiled using information from states which count them as rape.


Rape statistics

Rape crisis statistics can be found from the FBI and the Bureau of Justice as well as the CDC and RAINN (which uses the other resources as its source).


Notes


References

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