| Popis: |
Every state has its own legal definition of rape and sexual assault, and each one can be drastically different from another. A single set of actions can be interpreted either as a felony or a legal affair, simply depending on which state you are in. The purpose of this thesis is to examine if and how the differences in these legal definitions of rape manifest themselves in criminal proceedings. Ultimately, I show that the way a rape law is defined impacts how many perpetrators are arrested for this crime. Specifically, laws that include consent as the crux of the definition and intoxication as a mitigating factor to consent are associated with significant increases in arrest rates, while other aspects of the law do not impact the arrest rates. So, if a legislature wants to implement rape laws that are victim friendly and based on feminist principles, adding legal stipulations about positive consent and intoxication as a mitigating factor are essential. |
