Menstuff® has compiled the following information on Rape.
When Is It Rape?
Myths and Facts about Male Victims and
Rape
Rape is... - A
documentary
Through a Rapist's Eyes
Date Rape Drugs
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Sleep Assault
Prison Rape
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It also ruled that statements such as "I should go home" constitute an unambiguous "no" on the woman's part. The definition of rape has evolved again.
What are the facts of the case? Seventeen-year-old Laura T. attended an otherwise all-male party at which she did not drink. After allowing two teenaged boys to undress and fondle her in a bedroom -- acts she admitted enjoying -- she had sex with each. Laura did not say the word "no" nor did she resist. Instead, she said, "I have to go home."
Because John Z. continued for approximately four minutes after she first expressed what might have been reluctance, he was convicted of rape.
Rape is an abomination no civilized society can tolerate. But precisely because rape is such a serious crime, it is important to establish explicit and reasonable standards by which to judge the guilt or innocence of those accused.
If a woman (or man) clearly says "stop" during consensual sex, then the partner should be morally and legally constrained to do just that -- stop. But what if the partner proceeds in good faith on the basis of a "yes" given moments before? Common sense dictates that the rescinded "no" must be explicit and that the partner should have a reasonable amount of time to grasp the changed circumstances.
But the court ruled that sex becomes rape the instant the woman rescinds consent and it provided no guidance on what constitutes the withdrawal of consent.
The sole dissenting voice, Justice Janice Rogers Brown, found that none of Laura's statements were "unequivocal." Her requests to go home could have been interpreted as a need for reassurance or a request for greater speed.
This is a nontrivial point. The law assumes that all adults are responsible agents in sexual matters. (Laura T.'s age was not introduced as a significant factor in the court's conclusion.) The law assumes that women and men are able to make their wants known and, so, have a responsibility to do so.
As for the timing issue ... the court relied heavily upon John Z.'s failure to desist immediately. But, as Brown observed, the decision "does not tell us how soon would have been soon enough. Ten seconds? Thirty? A minute? Is persistence the same thing as force?"
John Z.'s attorney, Carol Foster, argued that her client should have been given a "reasonable amount of time" in which to withdraw. This is also nontrivial. If John Z. had a reasonable belief of consent, then he should also have a reasonable amount of time to realize circumstances had changed.
Brown -- the dissenting judge -- continued, "and even if we conclude persistence should be criminalized in this situation, should the penalty be the same as for forcible rape?" In essence, Brown is asking whether consensual sex that becomes nonconsensual at some point should be treated in the same manner as a back alley rape committed at the point of a knife. Or should there be another category of rape, such as negligence, which carries a lesser penalty?
No one wants to return to the '70s when women who took rape cases to trial were emotionally shredded in cross-examinations. None of us long for the days when the reports of a raped woman were summarily dismissed by a cynical police department. But the recent California decision is not a remedy for such problems surrounding the issue of rape.
Sixties feminism deserves a lot of credit for bringing sanity to bear on the crime of rape. They broke down a mythology that claimed only "bad" girls who walked alone at night in tight clothing were raped. Research showed exactly the opposite to be true. Every woman was vulnerable to attack, even in her own home and especially from men she knew.
Sixties feminism attacked a court system that believed rape complainants were less reliable than other victims. Feminists attacked the "reasonable resistance" requirement imposed by most states; that is, rape was not deemed to have occurred unless the woman had manifested strenuous resistance. Meanwhile, other crimes did not require a victim to resist in order for a crime to have occurred.
The prosecution of rape used to be skewed against women. Now it
seems to be skewed against men. No longer is criminal intent
necessary for criminal
guilt
.
No longer is an explicit "no" necessary for the withdrawal of
consent. And men may be well advised to keep a stopwatch as well as
contraceptives by the bedside.
The Laura T. decision may well become a Pandora's Box for false accusations of rape. No longer can the man point to a woman's explicit consent because she can now argue that -- once penetration occurred -- she changed her mind. She need not utter the word "no!" She can merely say, "I have to go home."
As the former mainstream feminist professor Erin O'Connor notes in
her blog
,
"this ruling neatly dispenses with the idea that rape necessarily
involves force, and replaces it with a definition of consent that is
as uncertain and shifting as the woman who wields it."
Source: Wendy McElroy, www.ifeminists.net/introduction/editorials/2003/0114.html
Men Against Sexual
Violence: Sexually Abused Males by Joe Kort
Myths and Facts about Male Victims and Rape
Myth: Rape happens because of an uncontrollable desire for sex with an irresistible victim.
Rape is an act of violence in which sex becomes the weapon used to control and or harm a victim the rapist perceives as vulnerable.
Myth: Men and boys cannot be raped.
One in six men report having been sexually abused by the time they were 18 (Finkelhor et al., 1990).
Anyone from infants to the elderly, regardless of gender, race, religion, socio-economic status, education, physical appearance, marital status, or culture can be raped. Rapists choose their victims carefully, looking for anything that will make the victim vulnerable and give them the advantage. They isolate their victims from bystanders who could help them, and rely upon shock, surprise, weapons, threats, strength, or positions of authority to counter the victim’s ability to resist.
Myth: Homosexual males perpetrate most sexual abuse of boys.
Men who sexually abuse males are usually pedophiles or persons who prefer a child as their sexual partner, not homosexual males. Most perpetrators know their victims (Groth et al., 1989) (Roesler et al., 1994).
Myth: A man or boy who experiences sexual arousal or orgasm during the abusive act enjoyed it.
Males may respond to stimulation even when it is abusive or violent. A man or boy who experiences sexual arousal may feel shame and guilt, but the arousal does not mean that he was willing or enjoyed it (Gartner, 1999).
Myth: Boys abused by males are or will become homosexual.
A boy may question or be confused about his sexual identity and orientation after having been abused by a male, especially if he experienced sexual arousal. But there is no reason to believe that sexual abuse causes homosexuality (Gartner, 1999).
Myth: Boys who are sexually abused will grow up to be sexual abusers.
While the majority of sexual abusers were abused themselves, the majority of sexually abused boys never become perpetrators (Lisak et al., 1996).
Myth: If the perpetrator is a female, the boy should consider himself lucky, not abused.
Our societal norms encourage a boy to deny any negative or traumatic responses to having been “so lucky,” to having earned a “badge of honor.” But, having been coerced or manipulated into sex by an older girl or woman is always abusive and often damaging (Lisak et al., 1996).
Comments:
Monika said...
Great myth busting, and great link. (It seems to be linked incorrectly, however, on your post; I think blogger sometimes does that).
There are also some great books out there for male survivors. An
autobiography I read that I found particularly moving was Sheldon
Kennedy's "Why I didn't say anything" www.amazon.ca/Why-Didnt-Say-Anything-Sheldon/dp/1897178077
Kennedy did a great job of showing the complexities male survivors (and survivors in general) experience.
In my experience (I am a sexual assault/abuse therapist), men and boys are really hit with the "you are going to be an offender" myth, as well as homophobia / "you are going to turn out gay" - both of which are often well internalized.
Just as there needs to be greater awareness about sexual violence in general, so does there need to be greater awareness about male survivors, specifically.
Thanks for the education!
Source: straightguise.blogspot.com/2008/01/men-against-sexual-violence-sexually.html
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