Rape is the crime of having sexual intercourse with a person against that person’s will. It is an act of violence and domination. Women or men may be the victims, although most victims are female.
In most cases of rape, the victim knows the attacker. Date rape is the act of having forced sexual intercourse with another person while on a social date. Marital rape occurs when a married person forces his or her spouse to have sexual intercourse. Statutory rape refers to sexual intercourse with a person who is under the legal age of consent. The age of consent is the age at which the law considers a person fully responsible for his or her sexual actions. In the United States, the age of consent varies by state. It generally ranges from 16 to 18.
Rape is a widely misunderstood crime, and victims often are not believed. There are many myths about rape. The main ones are (1) it is impossible to rape a resisting woman; (2) men often are falsely accused of rape; (3) some categories of forced sex (date rape or marital rape, for example) are not really rape; (4) boys and men cannot be raped; and (5) the answer “no” to sexual intercourse can mean “yes.”
Some experts believe that rape is one of the most underreported crimes. Officials estimate that the actual number of rapes committed may be three or more times the number reported. Many rape victims do not report the crime to police because of shame or fear. Some victims dread the possible humiliation of media publicity or being asked embarrassing questions by the police or, later, in a courtroom.
In a rape trial, unlike other criminal trials, the victim becomes the focus of attention. The victim’s life may be placed under intense examination. Defense lawyers routinely have tried to cast doubt on the victim’s story by asking about the victim’s past sex life or by trying to discredit the victim’s character. This focus on the victim, as opposed to the crime and the criminal, increasingly is regarded as unacceptable. Since the 1970’s, states across the United States have passed “rape shield” laws that severely restrict the evidence that can be introduced in court regarding the victim’s sexual history.
In the United States, only a small percentage of people charged with rape are convicted and imprisoned. On average, convicted rapists serve only about half of their original sentence. The low conviction rate results from the difficulty of proving the crime. Some states require evidence from witness accounts or evidence of bodily injury to the victim.
During the 1970’s, because of increased alarm about the number of incidents of rape, local communities and feminist groups created crisis centers to offer counseling to rape victims. These centers encourage women to report the crime to the police. Other groups also offer instruction on rape prevention and provide support to victims who prosecute their attackers.
Beginning in the early 2010’s, the prevalence of sexual violence in the U.S. military and on U.S. college campuses became an issue of national concern. Previously, sexual assault in the military was not treated as a criminal offense. Victims who reported such incidents faced such retaliation as harassment, ridicule, and demotion. In late 2013, President Barack Obama gave the U.S. Department of Defense one year to show progress in eliminating sexual assaults in the military. In December 2014, the department reported improvement in its handling of sex crimes, prompting more victims to come forward. The department said there was an 8 percent increase in the number of reported rape cases over the past year and the number of sexual assaults had declined to 19,000 annually from 26,000 in 2012.
Also in 2014, the White House Council on Women and Girls issued a report on sexual violence on college campuses. The report said one in five college students are victims of sexual assault, but that only 12 percent reported the crime. In January 2014, President Obama stepped up pressure on colleges and universities to prevent or improve their response to campus rape and sexual assaults. Obama announced a task force to coordinate federal enforcement efforts aimed at preventing such attacks. In May, the U.S. Department of Education released the names of at least 55 colleges and universities that were under investigation for their handling of sexual violence and sexual harassment complaints. In September, the Obama administration launched a public awareness campaign aimed at ending sexual violence on college campuses. The initiative, called “It’s on us,” urged college men to join the fight against sexual assault.
