criminal

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

ESTIMATES OF THE INCIDENCE, PREVALENCE, AND SERIOUSNESS OF RAPE Nearly 80,000 girls and women across the country notified the police that they had been forcibly raped, or an attempt was made to do so, during 2013 (about 50 females for every 100,000 inhabitants), according to the UCR (FBI, 2014). Almost 175,000 persons (of whom a

The Controversy Surrounding Widely Held Rape Myths From a victim-defending standpoint, certain victim-blaming arguments about acquaintance rapes are deemed to be “rape myths.” These widely held and frequently voiced points of view tend to dismiss the seriousness of the violation of the woman’s dignity and personal integrity, or even imply that nothing illegal took place