Rape Offences Research Articles

Including or excluding consent to the French offence of rape: an analysis of the criminal literature

Including or excluding consent to the French offence of rape: an analysis of the criminal literature

Confused Purposes and Inconsistent Adjudication: An Assessment of Bail Decisions in Delhi's Courts

Abstract A persistent issue in the Indian criminal justice system has been the over-incarceration of pre-trial detainees, which is inextricably linked with the practices of trial courts in deciding on the detention and release of accused persons pending trial. The present statutory law and judicial discourse provides little guidance on the process for deciding bail matters. There has also not been much effort to empirically research decision-making in such matters and/or the impact of these decisions on the pre-trial detainee population in prisons. The present study is an attempt to plug this gap, analysing ‘regular’ bail orders of Sessions Courts of Delhi available from the eCourts system between 2017 and 2019 for the offences of theft and rape. The data reveals a failure to recognise the fundamentally preventive purpose of bail, as well as to develop individualised and specialised processes in compliance with this purpose. Such failure in guidance has resulted in judges importing factors from the trial process that remain unjustified outside of the punitive detention process, such as guilt. In conclusion, we argue that a fundamental reimagination of the approach to bail is required – one that is distinct from the trial process and focuses instead on the individualised assessment of risk.

De-genderization of The Offence of Rape Under The Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act 2015: An Assessment of The Practical Challenges And The Slippery Slope Effects

De-genderization of The Offence of Rape Under The Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act 2015: An Assessment of The Practical Challenges And The Slippery Slope Effects

State Alcohol Policy Environments of U.S. Colleges: Predictors of Sexual Assault and Alcohol-Related Arrest and Disciplinary Action

Binge drinking and sexual assault are serious inter-related public health problems faced by college students. State-level alcohol policy restrictiveness has been found to decrease binge drinking among college students and, therefore, may also reduce occurrences of alcohol-related criminal offenses. It was hypothesized that more restrictive state alcohol policy environments would be associated with fewer liquor law violations and sexual assault offenses on U.S. college campuses. Data were aggregated across 3 academic years (2016-2017, 2017-2018, and 2018-2019) and represented n=1,290 institutions. Zero-inflated negative binomial regression modeling was performed in 2022-2023 to evaluate associations of state-level young adult binge drinking and the Alcohol Policy Scale (APS) with the numbers of campus-level alcohol-related arrests, alcohol-related disciplinary actions, rape offenses, and fondling offenses reported in national Campus Safety and Security data. Higher APS scores had direct associations with fewer alcohol-related arrests (1.79% decrease per one-unit increase in APS, p=0.05), alcohol-related disciplinary actions (2.27% decrease per one-unit increase in APS, p=0.027), and rape offenses (0.85% decrease per one-unit increase in APS, p=0.021). The associations APS scores had with disciplinary actions and rape offenses were partially and fully mediated, respectively, by state-level young adult binge drinking. No associations were found between APS and fondling offenses. This cross-sectional study presents evidence that more restrictive state alcohol policies are associated with fewer alcohol-related arrests and disciplinary actions, and rape offenses on college campuses. Future research should identify the alcohol policy domains that are most protective against these outcomes.

Experimental Effects of Substance Use Legality (Sober, Alcohol, Marijuana, Cocaine) and Sexual Crime (Indecent Exposure, Rape) on Attributions of Perpetrator Responsibility, Blame, and Punishment

Background: The perceived culpability of a sexual crime perpetrator may be attributed as a function of both the legality of the substance used when committing the crime and the severity of the sex crime. Objectives: The experiment applied attribution theory to examine the simultaneous impact of substance use legality and sexual crime severity on participants’ perceptions of responsibility, blame, and punishment toward sexual crime perpetrators. Methods: Participants (N = 461) in this 4 (substance legality) × 2 (sexual crime severity) experimental design were randomly assigned to one of eight conditions to read a police report depicting a sexual offense. The independent variable of substance legality was manipulated as the perpetrator’s usage of no substance (sober), alcohol (legal), marijuana (partially legal), or cocaine (illegal) at the time of the crime. The second independent variable of sexual crime severity was manipulated as the offense of indecent exposure (mild offense) or rape (severe offense) committed by the perpetrator. After reading the manipulated vignette, participants rated outcome measures involving the perpetrator’s responsibility, blame (guilt attributions, external attributions, and mental element attributions), and punishment (punishment attitudes and punishment severity). Results: Factorial MANCOVA and ANCOVAs were performed. Participants tended to attribute greater responsibility and blame, but not punishment, toward the sober perpetrator compared to the perpetrator intoxicated with alcohol, marijuana, or cocaine. Additionally, participants attributed significantly greater responsibility, blame, and punishment toward the perpetrator of rape compared to indecent exposure. Conclusions: The experiment supported that both substance legality and sexual crime severity uniquely served as contextual factors that played roles in people’s judgments about crimes. Findings offer drug policy information regarding how substance intoxication is perceived as a mitigating excuse in criminal justice systems for committing sexual offenses.

Nuptial Rape: Rape Within Marriage

Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 Criminalizes ’Rape’ under Offences Affecting the Human Body, where prevails an oddly fitted exception to this Section, which states: Sexual intercourse by a man with his wife who is not less than 15 years of age does not amount to the offence of rape. Marital Rape, a non-criminalized crime in India is where the victim herself does not know she is a victim of Marital Rape. It is one of the most under-reported crimes with 77% of women never seeking any aid regarding the violence they ever experienced. The section clearly states that rape within marriage cannot be treated as a criminal offence unless the wife is below 15 years of age. Considering the repercussions, the adverse effect on mental health highly caused by marital rape due to its non-criminalization, especially in India is reviewed legally and psychologically in this paper. The data for the above piece of research has been taken from Secondary sources: law sites, search engines, research articles, Google Scholar etc.

Are reporting and investigation of rape cases victim friendly? Responses of the police from a cross-sectional study conducted in three states of eastern India

The police are the first stakeholders within the criminal justice system responding to the offence of rape. Some specific laws have been enacted in India with the aim of incorporating a victim-friendly approach during the stages of reporting and investigation of rape cases by the police. This paper presents the results from the responses of the police from a cross-sectional study conducted in the states of Odisha (OD), Jharkhand (JH), and West Bengal (WB) in eastern India to see their approaches to the implementation of the victim-friendly provisions of the law at such specific stages. It presents the police perceptions on compliance with laws pertaining to reporting, registration and investigation of rape cases in the three selected states and the corresponding state-wise differences in police attitudes. The findings show that there is more non-compliance and there are differences in the degrees of compliance or non-compliance in the three states.

Yes Means Yes and No Means No?: The Debate on Consent as a Legal Standard in Rape Offences

Yes Means Yes and No Means No?: The Debate on Consent as a Legal Standard in Rape Offences

Patterns and Predictors of Stranger Rape Locations

This paper examines the spatial, environmental, and temporal patterns of 10,488 stranger rapes committed over a 15-year period in Greater London, UK. We distinguished between two types of stranger rapes according to perpetrator method of approach, i.e. absent/fleeting interaction with victim on approach (S1) or extended interaction with victim on approach (S2). There were a range of locational settings in which perpetrators both encountered their victims and where the offence took place, and these differed by method of approach. The highest number of S1 offences occurred outdoors, with 74% of approaches and 55% of offences located recorded as outside. For S2 rapes, there was more variety in approach locations with only 32% outside. The level of locational correspondence between approach and offence location was 71% for S1 rapes and 28% for S2 rapes. A series of negative binomial regression models identified variables predictive of stranger rape offence location. There were significant associations with transport connections and the night-time economy for both S1 and S2 rapes. Other significant predictors were deprivation score, the percentage of one person properties, and the percentage of private rented properties in a location. The percentage of green space was a significant predictor for S1 rapes only. The current findings challenge the popular narrative that stranger rape occurs in a specific setting (i.e. outside in a secluded location at night) and have implications for place-based crime prevention policy.

Number of participants in multiple perpetrator sexual aggressions

AbstractThe present study aims to explore differences between lone, duo and 3+ group sexual aggressions by adult strangers from a Spanish sample based on victims' and offenders' socio‐demographic characteristics and sexual offences. Additionally, the study aims to provide evidence of whether duo offences should be considered a different category that MPR and whether we can differentiate them from lone and 3+ group offenders. A sample of 400 sexual stranger offenders whose victims were women over 13 years of age has been analysed to find differences and predictive variables for lone (N = 298), duo (N = 43) and 3+ group (N = 59) sexual aggressions. Kruskal–Wallis tests and chi‐squared analysis were used to compare the three groups and then multinomial logistic regression analysis were conducted to identify the predictive variables of group size. Results support previous studies comparing group sexual offences by its size; and that duos could be a singular category with more similarities with multiple perpetrator rape offences (age and ethnicity of offenders, similar violent control and sexual behaviour during the aggression). Some singularities have also been encountered, such as higher levels of alcohol and drug use of the perpetrators; severe consequences of their actions with more injuries to their victims; use of weapons; and less use of vehicles, which can be related to crime locations that are rarely outdoors.

Understanding sexual violence and factors related to police outcomes.

In the year ending March 2020, an estimated 773,000 people in England and Wales were sexually assaulted. These types of crimes have lasting effects on victims’ mental health, including depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder. There is a large body of literature which identifies several factors associated with the likelihood of the victim reporting a sexual assault to the police, and these differences may be due to rape myth stereotypes which perpetuate the belief that rape is only “real” under certain conditions. Less is known, however, about the effect these rape myths and stereotypes have on the investigation process itself and the subsequent police outcomes assigned to sex offences. This study aimed to address this gap, providing a profile of all RASSO (rape and serious sexual offences) committed over a 3-year period in one English police force, the police outcomes of these offences, and whether any offences, suspect, or victim variables were associated with different outcomes, in particular the decision to charge or cases where victims decline to prosecute. In line with previous research, the majority of victims were female while the majority of suspects were male, and the most frequent victim–suspect relationship was acquaintance, followed by partner/ex-partner. Charge outcomes were more likely in SSOs and less in rape offences, more likely with stranger offences and less likely than offences committed by partners/ex-partners and relatives, and some non-white suspects were more likely to be charged than suspects of other ethnicities, including white suspects. Victim attrition was more likely in cases where the suspect was a partner or ex-partner and least likely where the suspect was a stranger, more likely in SSOs than in rape cases, and more likely when the victim ethnicity was “other”. Law enforcement should be aware of the potential biases, both relating to rape myths and stereotypes and to the biased treatment of victims and suspects based on demographic characteristics, and work to eliminate these to ensure a fairer and more effective RASSO investigative process.

Critical Reflection: The Importance of Case Reviews and Reflective Practice in Rape and Serious Sexual Offences Investigations

Critical Reflection: The Importance of Case Reviews and Reflective Practice in Rape and Serious Sexual Offences Investigations

A Systematic Literature Review of Specialist Policing of Rape and Serious Sexual Offences

A Systematic Literature Review of Specialist Policing of Rape and Serious Sexual Offences

SEXUAL OFFENCES IN POLAND IN A STATISTICAL PERSPECTIVE – SELECTED ISSUES

Purpose: to analyse selected statistical data on final convictions for sexual offences in Poland. Methods: a statistical method was used to analyse data on the number of final convictions and the types of penalties imposed. Results: convictions for sexual offences in Poland represent a small proportion of convictions for all offences in recent years. In 2018, the highest number of convictions among sexual offences concerned the offence of rape (Article 197 of the Polish Penal Code) and sexual acts with a minor under the age of 15 (Article 200 § 1 of the Polish Penal Code – the so-called offence of paedophilia). The indicated sexual offences are in most cases punished with imprisonment, while in 2018 these were mainly imprisonment penalties without conditional suspension of their execution (absolute imprisonment). These penalties in 2018 in most cases did not exceed half of the upper level of the statutory limits of the penalty, and were often adjudicated at the minimum level. Discussion: taking into account statistics on convictions for sexual offences, one may come to the conclusion that the threat of such acts is quite low in Poland. However, it should be remembered that sexual crime is stigmatized by a very large so-called ‘dark number’ (comitted crimes that are not covered by crime statistics because they are not been disclosed by law enforcement authorities). The majority of convictions concern the most reprehensible sexual offences (rape, paedophilia). It is worth noting that Polish courts are quite lenient towards perpetrators of the indicated crimes.

Factors that predict the referral of adult Modern Day Slavery cases to the UK's National Referral Mechanism

There is a high drop-out or attrition rate of Modern Day Slavery (MDS) cases in the Criminal Justice System although there has been a paucity of academic research examining the factors that could be related to this attrition. Similar work has been carried out examining attrition in rape cases (Feist A, Ashe J, Lawrence J et al. (2007) Investigating and detecting recorded offences of rape. Home Office Online Research Report, 18/07. London: Home Office). The aim of this study was to examine whether factors of MDS cases were associated with and could predict referral to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) (either by the police or other agencies). Two hundred and sixteen suspected cases of MDS were examined, 29 of which had been referred to the NRM. Content analysis was used to extract variables from the cases. These pertained to aspects of the offence (e.g. types of exploitation, offender strategies), the victim (e.g. gender, ability to speak English), and the offender (e.g. details on any recruiter, transporter and exploiter). Cases were more likely to be referred when the victim was locked, controlled or had their movement restricted, not recruited in the UK, when the trafficking flow was non-domestic, when debt bondage had occurred and when the recruiter was not in the UK when they recruited the victim. Cases were less likely to be referred when sexual exploitation was suspected, there was more than one victim and when the exploitation was thought to be occurring/have occurred in a brothel, massage parlour and or via a website. These findings may indicate that certain victims are more likely to come forward and/or that the cases are more likely to be considered MDS by those investigating the cases. Recommendations for practice include a consideration of the best way to handle suspected cases of sexual exploitation, considering adopting investigative strategies from domestic violence investigations, proactively addressing the gaps in the data and better linking of data. Limitations and future research ideas are discussed.

Solving the Myth of Rape-by-Deception: Based on the Restatement of Sexual Autonomy

When the defendant induces a woman to have sex with him by deception, whether he constitutes the crime of rape is a difficult problem that plagues the theory and practice of criminal law. In this regard, common law theories put forward the factum/inducement dichotomy, the theory of right to self-possession and the theory of sexual autonomy in a broad sense, but none of them can reasonably solve this problem. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate which kind of deception constitutes a criminal offence of rape. We believe that, the crux of the matter lies in the lack of a clear definition of the concept of sexual autonomy. In legal theory, sexual autonomy should be defined as the woman’s self-determination of the intimacy of sexual activity with a particular person. The intimacy of sexual activity includes three dimensions: the degree of sexual intimacy, intimacy privacy and intimacy taboo. Only when the defendant deceives the victim about the relevant facts of one of these three dimensions does he constitute the crime of rape. In conclusion, when the deception in a rape-by-deception case is about the degree of sexual intimacy, intimacy privacy or intimacy taboo, the defendant constitutes rape.

The role of the Sierra Leone government in combating rape offences regarding the sexual offenses act of 2012

The role of the Sierra Leone government in combating rape offences regarding the sexual offenses act of 2012

MULTIPLE ACTS OF SEXUAL PENETRATION WITHIN A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME – SINGLE OR MULTIPLE ACTS OF RAPE? S v Willemse 2011 (2) SACR 531 (ECG)

The case under discussion exposes a particular twilight zone in respect of the sexual offence of rape, and more specifically, the question as to when multiple acts of sexual penetration perpetrated by the same perpetrator within a relatively short time span, will constitute multiple acts of rape. The latter, in addition, specifically becomes problematic during sentencing. Once it has been established that a victim was raped more than once by an accused, a court is obliged in terms of section 51(1) of the Criminal Law Amendment Act 105 of 1997 (hereinafter “the Act”) to impose a sentence of life imprisonment, unless substantial and compelling circumstances exist to depart from the prescribed minimum sentence. The decision under discussion is of particular interest as the court was once again required to assess whether multiple acts of sexual penetration constituted a single act of rape, or multiple acts of rape and as such falling within the ambit of the provisions of the Act with regards to sentencing. A related issue addressed by the judgment, relates to the anomaly in respect of the appropriate approach to follow in cases of this nature relating to multiple acts of sexual penetration in order to assess whether these acts should be construed as multiple acts of rape, or as one single and prolonged act of rape.

Castration as Punishment for Rape in Kaduna State, Nigeria: Beaming Searchlight from Reproductive Health Right Perspective

The increasing incidence of rape and sexual offences in Nigeria is not only alarming but disheartening. Several efforts have made by the federal government of Nigeria and various state governments to address the social menace, like opening sex offenders’ register, practice of naming and shaming, imposing life sentences for convicted offenders, among other steps. In all these however, the heinous crime of rape and sexual offences have not been curtailed in the country, rather it is on the increase. Kaduna state government of Nigeria, in an attempt to tackle the crime, proceeded to amend the state’s Penal Code and prescribed castration as appropriate punishment for convicted perpetrators of rape. As commendable as this may be, how effective can it serve as deterrence and does the punishment of castration fall within the goals of penology? More importantly, is castration tantamount to an abuse of reproductive health rights of the convict? These are the issues addressed in this article. The aim of this article is therefore to examine castration as punishment for the offence of rape from the perspective of criminal law and human rights. The findings of the research revealed that castration as punishment for the offence of rape in Kaduna state is a way too far, and may amount to retaliation rather than deterrence. The research concludes that cutting an aching head is not the solution to the headache, hence there are other ways to curb the rampant rape of rape than a punishment that violates reproductive health rights of the convict. Keywords : punishment, castration, rape, perpetrators, reproductive health DOI: 10.7176/JLPG/110-01 Publication date: June 30 th 2021

Hmong ‘Marriage by Capture’ in the United States of America and Ukuthwala in South Africa: Unfolding Discussions

‘Marriage by capture’ among the Hmong people in the United States of America and ukuthwala in South Africa both take the form of the mock abduction of a young woman for the purpose of a customary marriage. The noteworthy point about these two customary marriage practices is that, although Hmong marriage by capture takes place in the context of a minority community in a liberal state, and ukuthwala occurs in a postcolonial state, courts in these jurisdictions convert these marriage practices to the common law offences of rape, assault, and abduction. This article reflects on the accused-centred approach in the case of People v Moua, in which the court invoked the cultural defence, and the victim-centred approach in Jezile v S, which severed cultural values from the rights of the woman. It questions whether the two communities in question, in their respective liberal and postcolonial settings, influence the attitudes of the courts in cases involving rape, assault, and abduction charges. The main argument proffered is that both approaches may encourage communities to continue marriage abduction practices without bringing them to the attention of investigative organs, with adverse human rights implications for the women and girls affected. The ultimate purpose of this conversation, therefore, is to show how the approaches of the courts to the recognition or non-recognition of these customary practices affect the rights of girls and women who encounter institutions of law that alienate people belonging to minority cultural groups, and often perpetuate injustice.