History of Rape Laws in the US Sexual Assault Rape Sedating Substances Violence Against Women Act of 2000

In the mid-seventeenth century, Sir Matthew Hale introduced the idea of "a woman scorned" into English common law.  The myth of the woman who is rejected by a man and then seeks revenge by falsely accusing him of rape remains prevalent  in society even today.  The creation of the myth of this vindictive woman serves to exonerate perpetrators of rape and in essence, perpetuate the notion that real rape is a rare offense that occurs between strangers.  Until the 1970's in America, jurors in rape cases were read Hale's warning that although rape is a horrific crime "it is an accusation easy to be made, hard to be proved, but harder to be defended by the party accused, though innocent" (Reeves Sanday, 1996).  Until only recently in our nation's history, women in the United States were subject to male violence and had little to no recourse or any means of achieving justice.

The women's movement of the 1960's spawned the anti-rape movement which incited change in the legal arena and was the first time that acquaintance rape was identified and studied.  Rape crisis centers, Take Back the Night marches, Speak Outs, feminist organizations, and published research accounts challenged the public's ideologies regarding the definitions as well as the prevalence of the act of rape. 

Rape law reform was an important aspect of the anti-rape movement.  At this time, many traditional ideas and commonly held notions about rape were challenged; such as, the idea that the degree of a woman's resistance was the deciding factor as to whether a rape occurred.  Since the 70's, resistance has become a less important determining factor in the law and the issue of verbal consent has become increasingly significant.  The link between rape and alcohol, as well as other sedating substances, has only recently come into the anti-rape discourse and laws.  Even today, the idea that a man could rape his wife is considered impossible to many in our society; in fact, marital rape remains noticeably absent from many state's rape laws.

For a more thorough account of the evolution of rape laws in America check out Peggy Reeves Sanday's amazing book: A Woman Scorned: Acquaintance Rape on Trial (1996)

Sexual assault is broadly defined as engaging or attempting to engage in unwanted sexual activity. 
There are many forms of sexual assault including, rape (forced sexual intercourse), sodomy (forced anal intercourse); oral copulation (forced oral-genital contact); rape by a foreign object (forced penetration by a foreign object, including 
a finger); and sexual battery (the unwanted touching of an intimate part of another person for the purpose of sexual arousal).  Sexual assault is basically the umbrella term for all forms of sexual violence.

California Law states that sexual battery occurs when:
"Any person touches an intimate part of another person, when the touching is against the will of the person touched, and is for the specific purpose of sexual arousal, sexual gratification, or sexual abuse...As used in this subdivision, "touches" means physical contact with another person, whether accomplished directly, through the clothing of the person committing the offense, or through the clothing of the victim."

Sexual battery is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not exceeding two thousand dollars ($2,000), or by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding six months, or by both that fine and imprisonment.
 

Under California law, rape is an act of sexual intercourse against the will of the victim that can occur under a variety of
circumstances, including:
          where the victim is prevented from resisting due to alcohol or drugs.
          where the assailant uses physical force or the threat of force to over-power and control the victim.
          where the victim fears that she or he or another will be injured if the victim does not submit.
          where the victim is at the time unconscious of the nature of the act, and this is known to the assailant.
          where the victim is incapable of giving legal consent due to a mental disorder or developmental or physical
          disability, and this is known or reasonably should be known to the assailant.
          where the act is accomplished by threatening to use the authority of a public official to incarcerate, arrest, or
          deport the victim or another person.
          where the assailant uses duress, such as a direct or implied threat of hardship or retribution, to coerce the
          victim.
          where the assailant uses force, fear, or threats to accomplish sexual intercourse against the will of the spouse. 
          (This provision of the law is known as the "spousal rape law.")

The law goes on to state that "the essential guilt of rape consists in the outrage to the person and feelings of the victim of the rape.  Any sexual penetration, however slight, is sufficient to complete the crime.

Consent is defined as "positive cooperation in act or attitude pursuant to an exercise of free will.  The person must act freely and voluntarily and have knowledge of the nature of the act or transaction involved.  A current or previous dating or marital relationship shall not be sufficient to constitute consent." 

Acquaintance rape and date rape are terms used by society to differentiate between stranger rape and rape between acquaintances.  These are not legal terms; therefore, the rape law applies in the same manner whether or not the rapist is known by the victim.

Rape is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for three, six, or eight years.

The complete California rape law is contained in Section 261 of the Penal Code. The spousal
 rape law is set forth in Section 262.

Alcohol, Gamma Hydroxy Butyrate (GHB), and Rohypnol are just three of the substances that rapists are using to overpower their victims.  According to California rape can be an act of sexual intercourse " where a person is prevented from resisting by any intoxicating or anesthetic substance, or any controlled substance, and this condition was known, or reasonably should have been known by the accused."  The use of drugs to subdue someone with intent to sexually assault or harm them is illegal. 

For information on how these sedating substances work, how prevalent they are in society, and how they are related to sexual assault, please go to The Sexual Assault and Relationship Violence Information Page.

This year President Clinton signed into law  H.R. 3244, the "Victims of Trafficking and Violence Prevention Act of 2000" which reauthorizes The Violence Against Women Act of 1994 through September 2005. The original bill was enacted to combat gendered violence on a state and national level.  New federal crimes were established as well as stiffer penalties for domestic violence and sexual assault.  VAWA provides funds for education, outreach, and prevention programs as well as for DV shelters, rape crisis agencies, and services for survivors.  The new bill provides $3.3 billion in funding and extends VAWA funds to reach underrepresented, marginalized populations such as Native American women, disabled women, and battered immigrant women. 

Among the most significant provisions in the new law are:

     $925 million in STOP grants. Of this, more than $23 million is set aside for state coalitions against sexual assault; 
     $400 million for rape prevention and education; 
     $140 million to fight violence against women on college campuses; 
     $1 billion to help prosecutors track down domestic abusers; 
     $875 million to expand shelters for battered women and their children; 
     $200 million for legal assistance for sexual assault and domestic violence victims; 
     Funding to review and expand sexual assault nurse examiner programs. 

For more information, check out the Violence Against Women Office online.

The bill can be found atThomas as HR 3514 and S 2110