Rape

This are of law is in transition as many states are replacing their rape laws with criminal sexual assault laws. Rape is a serious form of criminal sexual assault. The crime requires a lack of consent on the part of the victim. There is no consent if the victim is unconscious or mentally imcompetent or if drugs or alcohol impair the victim’s judgement. The perpetrator and the victim can be of either sex. These laws, therefore, can be used to prosecute women as well as men and can be used to prosecute same-sex criminal sexual assault.

Statutory rape, sexual intercourse between an adult and a minor child, has traditionally been used to punish males for having sexual relations with underage females, generally females under the age of 12 or under the age of 16, depending on the state’s law. Statutory rape differs from rape in a very important way: lack of consent is not an element of the crime. This crime is based on the notion that a minor is incapable of giving legal consent. A male can be prosecuted for statutory rape goes to the crime when the victim is younger than the specific age and “consents”.  Statutory rape laws are also changing. The tendency to recognize that either males or females can commit or be victims of statuory rape. There is also a trend in many states not to charge a person with statutory rrape unless the perpetrator is several years older than the victim, although this ages difference reequirement is never used to define rape.

There is a range of ways that states define forcible or statuory rape.States also tend to have specific sentencing laws that require more severe punishment for certain forms of sexual assault. When the victim is under a certain age, over a certain age, disabled, threatened with a weapon, punishment may be more severe.

In the past, defendants in rape cases were allowed to present evidence to the jury about the victim’s past sexual behavior and reputation in order to show that she had probably consented to the act. Most states and the federal system have passed “rape shield” laws. which now prohinit introducing evidence. To convict a person  of rape, some states require independent proof that the act took place. This mean confirmation or support for the story of the victim, including testimony of a witness, a doctors report that sexual intercourse took place, or a prompt report to the police.

The trend has been to bemore protective of victims, that is, to make sure that the victim is put on trial. Yet, it is alos true that the sometimes unclear nature of male – female relationships, as well as same-sex relationships, presents challenges for the criminal justice system. While criminal assault is a serious crime and should be punished as such, the criminal justice system must also protect against punishing an accused person unless the victim clearly expresses a lack of consent.

In recent years, the term acquaintance rape, also known as date rape, has been used to describe a sexual assault by someone known to the victim, a date, steady boyfriend, neighbor or friend. Many victims of acquaintance rape do not report the assault. This may be because they do not realize an attack that occurs on a date can in fact constitute rape.