Impact of rape-myths on judiciary proceedings: A lack of acknowledgement in the European Court of Human Rights case-law

Abstract

Rape myths can be defined as prejudicial, stereotyped or false beliefs about rape, rape victims, and rapists, and they include common opinions whereby women mean “yes” when they say “no”; women provoke rape; if a woman does not want to be raped, she will just fight back at any cost. These pervasive social attitudes can have a detrimental effect on victims of sexual violence, especially when employed by authorities during official proceedings. As such, this article aims at analyzing to what extent rape myths affect the perception of victims of sexual violence during the official proceedings on the example of the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). Thus the first part explains the notion of rape myths, while the second part provides an analysis of the jurisprudence of the ECHR. Lastly, the final part suggests new approach to cases concerning sexual violence.