NCJ Number
95729
Date Published
1982
Length
39 pages
Annotation
This British police staff training course discusses the history of rape laws, particularly social changes which have resulted in the current British rape laws.
Abstract
The word 'rape' is derived from the Latin verb rapere, which means to steal, seize, or carry away. 'Rape' is the oldest means by which a man seized or stole a wife. In biblical times, rape was a crime of theft, and was legitimized by a payment and/or a marriage. In 1275, the Statute of Westminister identified two offenses of rape: (1) ravishing a damsel under the age of 12 years with or without consent and (2) ravishing any other woman against her will. Rape was punished by a fine and 2-year imprisonment; this lenient sentence led to a dramatic increase in rape, and in 1285 the crime became a capital offense. It remained a capital offense until 1861, when it was formally regulated with other offenses in the Offenses against the Person Act of 1861, when the death penalty was replaced by life imprisonment. Women's struggle toward equality from the industrial revolution, when they first began to work outside of the home in great numbers, to the present has influenced rape law. Rape law has changed from giving a distinct advantage to the accused to a current effort to relieve the victim's distress by preserving her anonymity during the trial. Case studies on rape are presented, and current British rape law is explained. The future of rape laws is also considered. Six tables and 13 references are included.