criminal

The Need for Corroboration In the past, one aspect of the law in most states that made rape charges very difficult to prove beyond a reasonable doubt was the corroboration require- ment, which demanded that the prosecution dis- cover independent evidence to back up the key elements of the complainant’s account. Derived V I C […]

Issues Surrounding Force and Resistance In the not-so-distant past, in order to convict a rapist, a woman had to convince a jury that she forcefully resisted to her utmost and ceased strug- gling only because she feared she would be killed or seriously injured. The justification cited for requir- ing such proof of fierce resistance

Rape Shield Laws During the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s, the anti- rape movement successfully convinced legislatures in almost every state to pass laws prohibiting improper cross-examinations. Generally, shield laws stipulate that the defense cannot introduce evidence about an accuser’s past sexual conduct unless the woman has been convicted of prostitu- tion, has had consensual sex

Unwanted Publicity and Negative Media Portrayals A high-profile case is often tried in the court of public opinion, based on selective leaks of “eviden- ce”presented in media accounts, long before the accused and the accuser actually appear before a judge (see Chancer, 2005). Fears about intrusive press coverage, unwanted publicity, and victim blaming discourage some

The Accuser Versus the Accused Rape prosecutions directly pit the rights of the accused male against the rights of the female com- plainant. He has the Sixth Amendment right to wage a vigorous defense through his attorney. She has a right to be taken seriously and treated with respect on and off the witness stand,

The Controversy over Unfounded Accusations Rape always has been in a class by itself in one peculiar way: The complainant immediately con- fronts a credibility issue. For hundreds of years, it has been asserted that spiteful women “cry rape” to get revenge against men who spurned them. Deep concerns about the danger of false accusations

Charges Are Pressed Against a Defendant You have lived through the crime and made it through the initial investigation. They’ve caught the man who harmed you, and he’s been charged with armed burglary, robbery, and rape. Now he’ll be tried. Now you expect justice. You receive a subpoena for a preliminary hearing. No one tells

The Systems Shortcomings from a Victims Point of View The Crime You are a 50-year-old woman living alone. You are asleep one night when suddenly you awaken to find a man standing over you with a knife at your throat. As you start to scream, he beats you and cuts you. He then rapes you.

HOW THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM HANDLES RAPE VICTIMS Before public consciousness was raised by the anti- rape movement, complainants who courageously reported sex crimes frequently found themselves socially stigmatized. An old-fashioned notion of “Good girls don’t get raped” prevailed, so those who did get raped must have done something to deserve their fate. Even if

WHO FACES THE GRAVEST DANGERS? DIFFERENTIAL RISKS OF BEING SEXUALLY ASSAULTED AND RAPED Even though the NCVS figures are underesti- mates, the differential risks derived from yearly surveys are worth analyzing. The findings confirm the stereotype that virtually all of the assailants of females were males, as were nearly all of the assai- lants of