Читать книгу Criminology For Dummies - Steven Briggs - Страница 97

The crime of rape traditionally requires proof that someone (usually a man) forcibly compelled someone else (usually a woman) to have sexual intercourse. However, rape can also involve consensual sexual intercourse between an adult and a partner under the age of 18 (a crime called statutory rape) or intercourse with someone whom the law deems incapable of consent because of a mental handicap. The word sodomy refers to forced anal or oral sex or to those same acts when they’re done consensually between an adult and a juvenile.

Society once believed that rape and sodomy were offenses committed by men unable to control their sexual desires. But in the past 30 years or so, society has come to see crimes such as rape and sodomy as violent acts that result in lasting physical and emotional damage to the victim.

Today the most common type of rape is rape committed by a person the victim knows. In fact, according to the 2019 National Crime Victimization Survey, more than 70 percent of rape victims knew their offenders.

For example, date rape, a kind of rape that appears most often in campus settings, is when someone you know forces you to have sexual intercourse, usually at the end of a date or other social outing. One reason why date rape appears in campus settings is because a large percentage of all rapes are committed by men under the age of 25. Higher levels of alcohol and drug abuse, which are also common on campuses, likely play a role, too.

The media has paid lots of attention to date-rape drugs, such as gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB), that are put in a victim’s drink to render that person more susceptible. Keep in mind, however, that alcohol consumption plays a much more significant role in making women vulnerable to sexual offenses.

The heavy consumption of alcohol or drugs by a victim not only makes the victim more susceptible to abuse but also makes prosecuting the offender more difficult. This is because the victim may have a poor memory of the events and may have engaged in conduct that the defendant will offer as evidence that the victim consented to the act.

Victims of rape experience a wide range of lasting physical and emotional effects. For example, for purposes of prosecution, women are encouraged to be examined by a doctor to obtain forensic evidence of rape (such as semen, pubic hairs, and blood). This experience can be frightening and embarrassing. Rape victims may also contract venereal diseases, become pregnant, suffer economic loss, and struggle with the significant emotional impacts. Fortunately, police and victim services have become much better at recognizing these challenges and helping victims through their ordeals.

Although each state is different, forcible rape and sodomy are usually punished by severe sentences, somewhere between 5 and 20 years, depending on the circumstances. Statutory rape, involving consensual sex between an adult and a minor, usually results in shorter punishment and often no prison time.