Crime of Rape!

Its Legal & Cultural History

Danny Masterson. Donald Trump. And A Revolution Through Female Alliance!

Did you know that rape is the most underreported crime?

Did you know that rape was originally a crime of trespass against property? Why property you may ask? Because the raped woman was deemed to be the property of her father or her husband!

But what if, in the above original definition of rape, the rape victim was an unmarried orphan? This is more than an academic question. Because, as my guest, Prof. Diane Rosenfeld explains, over time governments stepped in on behalf of rape victims. And therein lurks another problem: rape laws were written by men.

So rape cases were and are prosecuted with laws that reflect men’s perspectives on this terrifying crime. It’s no wonder that most prosecutors, in fact, try to dismiss allegations of rape and dissuade victims from bringing charges. And when rapes are prosecuted, only 2–4% succeed.

In the last 30 days, we’ve had two high-profile rape cases — one civil, the other criminal. Donald Trump was not found liable for rape in the civil suit brought by E. Jean Carroll (although he was found liable for sexually abusing and defaming her). And Danny Masterson, the actor from “That 70s Show”, was found guilty of two of the three counts of…