Forcible Rape and the Criminal Justice System

Abstract

Forcible rape, a crime which the criminal justice system has historically been inept at handling, has finally achieved in the past decade the recognition it deserves as a societal and crim inological problem warranting serious attention. Its cogency to a variety of current social issues—the position of women in a traditionally male-dominated society, interracial conflict, the inconsistent and discriminating imposition of the death penalty—has put rape in the spotlight of public and official concern. This article singles out a number of salient points of con cern in the control and reduction of rape and describes some efforts that have been or are being made to bring about a reversal in the upward trend o f rape rates. A current, comprehensive, nation-wide research project on forcible rape is described, with a summary of how the results of the project are expected to be utilized by criminal justice agencies and by other organizations dealing with rape. Other points of concern discussed in this paper are the legal and moral issues revolving around the lack of consensus in the definition of rape, not only as specified in state statutes but also as viewed by law enforcement agencies. Conceptual differences in the definition of rape lead to inequitable and inconsistent handling of rape by the criminal justice system in addition to seriously impugning the validity, and hence usefulness, of official crime statistics. Finally, changes in the treatment of rape victims, with the concomitant benefits to them and to the criminal justice agencies responsible for controlling and prosecuting rape, are discussed.