Date rape or acquaintance rape has become a highly recognized problem in the United States. The trial coverage of Mike Tyson v. Desiree Washington and William Kennedy Smith v. Patricia Bowman are two cases that gained nationwide attention in recent years. These cases have also opened the eyes of people across American regarding the issue of date rape. While these cases are just a few of the reasons increased awareness and a change in the legal definition of rape are justified when determining the issue of consent there are many more that have not achieved such high attention from the media.
The definition or “consent has been altered to mean “positive cooperation in act or attitude pursuant to an exercise of free will. A person must act freely and voluntarily and have knowledge of the nature of the act or transaction involved.” (Harris in Francis 1996)
The definition of date rape versus rape has been difficult to interpret from not only a legal standpoint but in society’s view as well. Many people believe that victims were willing to participate and then decided that they did not actually mean for things to go so
The potential victim is not solely responsible for prevention of date rape. It is the responsibility of every human being to be educated regarding this crime not only to assist a survivor but to prevent it occurring in the first place. As long as men try to use date rape myths to rationalize this behavior a positive effect will never come to pass.
The study also showed that the rape victims who sought medical care compared to the number who reported their attack to the police. This is caused by the survivor’s fear of being traumatized and violated again by unsupportive medical staff persons during the exam. Since internal and external injury and possible pregnancy are common effects it is necessary to be attended to by a rape-crisis counselor when possible in order to help a survivor deal with them. In a 1988 study by Koss and Dinero survivors reported similar levels of depression, complications in relationships, high anxiety, and problems finding levels of sexual satisfaction similar to before the rape occurred.
far for one reason or another and then cried rape. There are also those that believe that if a woman goes
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