Hi everyone. I took my first final year exam today, and while I should be revising for my second, on Wednesday, instead I was sitting in my living room, checking out news stories in The Guardian, trying to find something to procrastinate on (procrastinate on? procrastinate off? procrastinate with? procrastinate about?). And luckily, I found it.
Here it is: an article about the
legal definition of rape (in many states of the US), and how it contradicts what most feminists are trying to drill into people (that "no means no"), and how it should be changed.
I mostly agree with what is said in the article, and have nothing against the general topic. But one sentence stuck out at me, and even though I understand how it was meant, I believe in the power of words and how things are said, and I am convinced that the way it was phrased is wrong. Not just a mistake, but morally wrong.
The sentence goes like this: "A better model rape statute will likely lead to better rape laws – and ultimately more convictions". I had to read it twice. Then another time.
A good law should not (necessarily) lead to more convictions than a bad law. A good law should state clearly who is guilty of a crime and make this definition easy to apply. And the reason I think the statement is morally wrong is that it implies that more people should be convicted of rape.
Here's the thing: most rape cases are not reported. Out of all rape cases reported many do not end up in conviction. And yes, part (a huge part) of the problem is that rape can be difficult to define and even more difficult to establish. When a rape occurs within an intimate relationship (this is, when a friend or a boyfriend or a husband is the rapist) it can be extremely difficult to prove it was rape. Because in many of these cases there might not have been force (if the victim only refused sex verbally, or simply did not consent), or the force might be consistent with "rough" sex. More than that, in many cases, women don't report rapes in intimate relationships, either because they are not sure it has been a rape, or because they are embarrassed, or because they are afraid of retaliation.
So yes, a better definition of rape is needed, and better ways of determining whether someone has been raped is needed (at least from my point of view, because although many women insist that a woman will not shout rape unless she has been raped I still believe in the cornerstone of the justice system: innocent until proven guilty). But saying that a better model rape statute will lead to more convictions is not saying that the law will necessarily improve. It's just saying that it will encompass more things. And as much as I agree, to my core, that rape definition is incomplete, as much as I believe that any situation where a person does not explicitly consent to a sexual practice (and by explicit consent I mean anything from actually saying yes, I want to do this, to a nod to a willing and enthusiastic participation) can be considered rape; I have to be wary of anyone who says "a better law that will lead to more convictions". I would have been OK with "a better law that will lead to fairer convictions" or "a better law that will ensure the conviction of more rapists", but not "a better law that will lead to more convictions". Because a better law does not necessarily lead to more convictions (though in this case, it probably would), and this makes it sound like what is being asked is for more people to go to jail, rather than for a better system for determining whether someone should go to jail.
Rape is a problem. It is a huge problem. In the US alone, the amount of rapes in college campuses is enough to scare a woman out of going to certain colleges. It is a difficult problem to address because sometimes rape is not recognized for what it is and sometimes it is laughed off and victims are blamed and slut shamed. Rape is a problem that needs solutions. But rape is also a problem that needs good solutions. Solutions that will improve the definition of rape and that will make it easier to determine if a woman has been raped (better rape kits if possible? I honestly cannot come up with a good idea as to how to make it easier to prove rape when a woman has been raped by a friend or a partner and she didn't actively resist, but we need to find a way). But it is not a solution to put any man accused of rape in jail. It is not a solution to say that a better law will put more people in jail. Mainly because a worse law (for example, one that considers that any sexual activity outside marriage is rape) could also put more people in jail.
I think I should go back to revision now. If you an spare the time and effort let me know what you think.
Thanks for reading.
H
