Background
The laws and the application of the laws related to sexual violence and sexual exploitation have been, and continue to be, complicated by institutionalized bias against victims which is often presented as necessary to protect the innocent.
Sir Matthew Hale's statement: "Rape is an accusation easily to be made, hard to be proved, and harder yet to be defended by the party accused." is still commonly cited to defend ignoring many reports of rape. For centuries this quote was read to juries in many rape trials in the US and the UK.
But those who continue to use this quote and cite Hale as an expert on the importance of credible evidence don't know or don't care that in 1662, he presided over the trials of 2 woman who were executed for practicing witchcraft based on flimsy evidence. Hale also made at least one statement that was used to deny the possibility of spousal rape.
Hale's concern for the innocent and his standard of proof were clearly selective. And yet he is a model for some of those in the criminal justice system who continue to approach allegations of rape in a way that injects injustice.
These entrenched ideas and the problems they create have been around for so long that many people who would never intentionally participate in an injustice will fight to maintain unjust systems.
We can and must do better so that the rights and safety of all citizens are respected.
Laws
Findlaw rape Site allows you to set a location within the US and find the legal statutes which apply.
New Washington State law allows previous victims to testify
Previously victims of sex crimes which can no longer be prosecuted due to the statute of limitations couldn't testify. Now the prosecution in one state can seek to have those victims testify in a current case.
Oklahoma law and nursing home sex offenders
This law is a response to general concerns about the housing of aging sex offenders and specific concerns highlighted by a rape committed by one nursing home resident with a known history of sexual violence against another nursing home resident.
If you are killed after testimony will your voice be heard?
The US Supreme Court threw out the interview given by a woman later shot to death by the man who claimed that he would be denied his right to cross examine her if the police interview recorded prior to her death were admitted into evidence.
Confessions and Recantations
Madison, Wisconsin offered payment to rape victim falsely accused of filing a false police report
This stranger rape case where DNA existed and was later used to convict the woman's rapist is highlighted in the book Cry Rape by Bill Lueders.
Innocence inquiry panel upholds conviction after victim recanted
The convict served his original sentence for a sex crime against his daughter, but is jailed in Georgia over a sex offender registry violation. This case highlights a situation where the victim may feel that the system has been unfair to the offender.
Insight into case where woman allegedly recanted
In the civil case Eric Leon Major vs. Officer Al Anger and the City of Birmingham a woman's desire not to have her ex-fiance charged with a crime after he attempted to rape her is mislabeled as a recantation.
Ethical interrogations and the rape victim
When most people think about ethical interrogations they often consider only interviews with crime suspects when unethical interrogations can be used on crime victims as a test or to try to coerce the disbelieved victim into recanting.
Police interrogations and false admissions
Discussion of the book Police Interrogations and American Justice by law professor Richard A. Leo.
Enforcement
New Orleans police call over half of rape reports non-criminal
Information about how cities can have policies which eliminate a report of a crime from their official statistics for that particular crime.
The Danger In Criminal Profiling Alleged Rape Victims
Information about a textbook which teaches investigators to assume that any inconsistency from the alleged victim is evidence that the report is most likely fraudulent.
National child protection training center in Winona, MN and
follow up about adult actors who transform into child victims
Information on an educational center where professionals such as nurses, teachers, social workers and police can get comprehensive education related to childhood abuse including the use of simulated homes for those who go into homes can makes mistakes in a simulated environment instead of on the job.
The responding injustice that doesn't just happen
When police or prosecutors make a sex crimes arrest before completing the investigation and the investigation proves the allegation to be false this is often used as an excuse for police to not investigate other allegations.
What if 19-hour rape ordeal were done to spouse or friend?
A discussion about how often people's opinion of rape cases change dramatically when the defendant isn't a stranger.
What lack of DNA evidence proves
A response to the claim that a lack of DNA evidence proves that a rape allegation must be false.
Complete investigations used as justification to not have complete investigations
Many of those who focus on false police reports oppose complete investigations even when those investigations can remove the taint from the person wrongly accused of rape.
Slow response, harassment and dropped charges
The mother of a rape victim in the UK spoke out about the disrespectful way her daughter's case was handled.
Hinson acquitted of bunker rapes sentenced to 25 years for gun possession
A man who claimed that the 2 girls who had been held in his underground bunker and allegedly left for dead had consented was found not guilty of that charge, but possession of the gun he allegedly used against the girls couldn't be argued away.
Ethical use of investigative techniques
A discussion of the ethics of placing GPS tracking devices on a registered sex offender's car without a warrant which led to them catching him in the process of dragging a woman into a wooded area.
Believing rape victims as dangerous as reviving the Spanish Inquisition
A response to the argument that the legal standard of innocent until proven guilty means that rape victims cannot be believed by investigators until the allegation has been proven.
Cold case squad finds DNA match in nick of time
A discussion of one of the many unsolved rape cases which are nearing the statute of limitations but which can be solved through DNA analysis.
Defense Strategies
Michigan appeals court rules that rape victims cannot be sued for wrongful prosecution
A man who had his rape conviction overturned and was then acquitted wanted the woman who was raped and left with permanent injuries to be considered one of his prosecutors, but the court rejected the idea that victims become prosecutors when they report a crime.
Effective backlash against Rep James Fagan's treatment of child rape victims
While discussion proposed increased minimum sentences a legislator and defense attorney said that the change would cause him and other defense attorney to intentionally torment child rape victims.
Defense claims about not remembering exact dates and times
A defense attorney tried to distract the jury from the core of the case by making a false claim about what real victims would remember.
Demonizing drinking women so their rapists are more sympathetic
In a discussion about victim blaming in rape cases defense attorneys discuss the attitude of jurors regarding rape victims who have consumed alcohol which makes defense attorney's job much easier compared to similar cases where the victim was sober.
Treatment of Victims
Colleges can no longer enforce gag orders against rape victims
In response to a lawsuit by Security on Campus the US Dept. of Education ruled that gag orders barring victims from discussing the college's official response to a report of rape violate federal law.
UK rape victims compensation reduced if they drank
A discussion of a rape victim who fought the designation that she contributed to her own rape in a case where the police had already botched her case by losing important evidence.
Getting it Right
Judge's response to rapist's lack of remorse and mother's upset over victim's actions
After a rapist's mother excused her son's anger at his victim because of his religious beliefs the judge asked a simple question that the mother refused to answer.
US Supreme Court rules against company accused of retaliating against employees
Employees who don't file sexual harassment complaints but who testify about sexual harassment they've seen are due the same protection as employees who file sexual harassment complaints.
