Rape Law

The ABA Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) will partner with non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the Bar Association and the Judges’ Association to develop and implement a series of capacity-building trainings for the police, prosecutors, judges and magistrates to promote more effective investigation, prosecution and adjudication of gender-based violence (GBV) and sexual violence cases.

Congress enacted the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 (PREA)[1] to address the problem of sexual abuse of persons in the custody of U.S. correctional agencies. PREA calls for Federal, State, and local corrections systems to have a zero-tolerance policy regarding prison rape (as defined by PREA) in prisons, jails, police lock-ups, and other confinement facilities.

Forcible rape, as defined in the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program, is the carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will. Assaults and attempts to commit rape by force or threat of force are also included; however, statutory rape (without force) and other sex offenses are excluded.

Until the late 1970's, most states did not consider spousal rape a crime. Typically, spouses were exempted from the sexual assault laws. For example, until 1993 North Carolina law stated that "a person may not be prosecuted under this article if the victim is the person's legal spouse at the time of the commission of the alleged rape or sexual offense unless the parties are living separate and apart." These laws are traceable to a pronouncement by Michael Hale, who was Chief Justice in England in the 17th century, that a husband cannot be guilty of rape of his wife "for by their mutual matrimonial consent and contract the wife hath given up herself in this kind unto the husband which she cannot retract." (1) In the late 1970's, feminists began efforts to change these laws. Currently, rape of a spouse is a crime in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

The term "sexual violence" refers to a specific constellation of crimes including sexual harassment, sexual assault, and rape. The perpetrator may be a stranger, acquaintance, friend, family member, or intimate partner. Researchers, practitioners, and policymakers agree that all forms of sexual violence harm the individual, the family unit, and society and that much work remains to be done to enhance the criminal justice response to these crimes.

he Office on Violence Against Women (OVW), a component of the U.S. Department of Justice, provides national leadership in developing the nation's capacity to reduce violence against women through the implementation of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). Created in 1995, OVW administers financial and technical assistance to communities across the country that are developing programs, policies, and practices aimed at ending domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.

A criminal offense defined in most states as forcible sexual relations with a person against that person's will. Rape is the commission of unlawful sexual intercourse or unlawful sexual intrusion. Rape laws in the United States have been revised over the years, and they vary from state to state.

Most states do not refer specifically to statutory rape; instead they use designations such as sexual assault and sexual abuse to identify prohibited activity. Regardless of the designation, these crimes are based on the premise that until a person reaches a certain age, he is legally incapable of consenting to sexual intercourse. Thus, instead of including force as a criminal element, theses crimes make it illegal for anyone to engage in sexual intercourse with anyone below a certain age, other than his spouse. The age of consent varies by state, with most states, including Connecticut, setting it at age 16. The age of consent in other states ranges from ages 14 to 18.

On October 28, 2000, President Clinton signed into law the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act (P.L. 106-386). This law, which passed Congress on October 11, 2000, by overwhelming margins, combines the Violence Against Women Act of 2000 and the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000. Included in the legislation protecting victims of domestic violence and trafficking in persons are several provisions related to immigrants, summarized below.

These are drugs that are sometimes used to assist a sexual assault. Sexual assault is any type of sexual activity that a person does not agree to. It can include touching that is not okay; putting something into the vagina; sexual intercourse; rape; and attempted rape. These drugs are powerful and dangerous. They can be slipped into your drink when you are not looking. The drugs often have no color, smell, or taste, so you can't tell if you are being drugged. The drugs can make you become weak and confused — or even pass out — so that you are unable to refuse sex or defend yourself. If you are drugged, you might not remember what happened while you were drugged. Date rape drugs are used on both females and males.

The organization was formed in 1996 and incorporated as a non-profit organization in 2001 (IRS ruling received in 2004) by former victims of relationship and family violence for the purposes of assisting others to find resources, receive guidance, and enjoy the support and empathy of others who have "been there, done that". We went from victims to advocates - leaving our abusive situations and going on to run battered women's shelters or to work as police officers, 911 dispatchers, victim advocates, or counselors.

The Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Website (NSOPW), coordinated by the U.S. Department of Justice, is a cooperative effort between Jurisdictions hosting public sex offender registries (“Jurisdictions”) and the federal government. These Jurisdictions include the 50 states, Puerto Rico, Guam, the District of Columbia, and participating tribes. This Website is a search tool allowing a user to submit a single national query to obtain information about sex offenders through a number of search options.

The National Sexual Violence Resource Center serves as the nation’s principle information and resource center regarding all aspects of sexual violence. It provides national leadership, consultation and technical assistance by generating and facilitating the development and flow of information on sexual violence intervention and prevention strategies. The NSVRC works to address the causes and impact of sexual violence through collaboration, prevention efforts and the distribution of resources.

Mission and Goals: To help prevent violence against women by advancing knowledge about prevention research and fostering collaboration among advocates, practitioners, policy makers, and researchers.

With the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) funding from OVC, state agencies within the United States and U.S. territories have established compensation programs to reimburse crime victims and assistance programs to offer victim services.

Every day tragedy meets someone who is victimized by sexual violence. The Rape Crisis Center for Children & Adults is there, providing immediate crisis care, support, and hope to those individuals and families afflicted by this horrific crime.

The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network is the nation's largest anti-sexual assault organization. RAINN operates the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1.800.656.HOPE and the National Sexual Assault Online Hotline at rainn.org, and publicizes the hotline's free, confidential services; educates the public about sexual assault; and leads national efforts to prevent sexual assault, improve services to victims and ensure that rapists are brought to justice.

The goal of this Web site is to provide information and technical assistance to individuals and institutions interested in developing new SANE-SART programs or improving existing ones.

Our mission: tto provide advocacy, free of charge, for victims of rape, domestic violence, and child abuse, particularly in the Latina and other under served communities of Sonoma County. To provide advocacy training and community education. To coordinate the Task Force on Women in Policing with the goal of increasing the number of women and minorities in our law enforcement agencies. To commit to equal justice for all women and girls.

This blog was created in order to bring to the forefront the sad reality of rape victims throughout the world in the 21st century. Currently I'm collecting every piece of information I can find regarding this subject, and put it here with reference to the origin.

This page answers some of the questions we get asked about sexual abuse and rape. Select the question you want to find out the answer to and you can then choose whether you want to read the answer or watch Vickie or Rachel answer it in person.

Open source WordPress has been incredibly successful and risen from a handful of users to the most-used blog tool in its category.

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