Rape Trauma Syndrome: An Examination of Standards that Determine the Admissibility of Expert Witness Testimony

Abstract

ABSTRACT Specialized literature on women's reactions to rape was virtually non-existent before the emergence of the women's movement in the early 1970s. By speaking out publicly, however, advocates of the civil rights reform compelled the conception of rape trauma syndrome and a proliferation of research regarding the psychological reactions of rape trauma victims. This growth of psychological knowledge regarding the reaction of rape victims forced the courts to reexamine the standards relating to the admission of expert testimony as developed in the case Frye v. United States. As a result of this reexamination, courts have relied upon opposing standards of proof to determine the admissibility of rape trauma evidence such as those developed in section 403 and 702 of the Federal Rules of Evidence and those outlined in the case of Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc. The purpose of this paper is to examine rape trauma syndrome as it is commonly understood by both the psychological community and the judicial system and to assess its applicability to the admissibility of expert testimony.