A broader definition of rape

[bemildred]

---

The language the advisory board crafted defines rape as a crime against a woman or man that involves any vaginal or anal penetration by any object or body part. It also includes oral sexual penetration as a rape act. It drops the word "forcibly," and states that these acts are a crime if they occur without consent.

This overdue change is not just symbolic. Academics, legislators and public officials rely on the statistics when crafting laws and setting policy. What's more, understating rape's occurrence, women's advocates say, not only misleads the public about the prevalence of the crime, but also hinders funding for enforcement and treatment programs.

"From a citizen's point of view, you can't monitor something if you can't measure it," said Carol Tracy, executive director of the Women's Law Project, who began lobbying the FBI to make the change 10 years ago.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/opinionla/la-ed-rape-20111222,0,5797126.story

[Boston_Chemist]

1. Will rape get overstated? nt

[dipsydoodle]

2. without consent

is perfect wording because it should leave no doubt.

[bemildred]

3. My own feeling is these things should always be videotaped, just to be on the safe side. nt

[lumberjack_jeff]

4. Agree. n/t

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

5. The only question is, could a man be charged with rape....

...if during consentual sexual activity he initiated a particular sexual act without asking which she rebuffed and he stopped.....do you always get one "no"?

[lumberjack_jeff]

6. The FBI statistical reporting will change, not the underlying laws.

Until this change, many crimes that people would generally consider rape would not counted as such by the FBI.

If the hypothetical example you are talking about wasn't a crime last year, it's still not a crime today. If was a crime... then it still is.

[Taverner]

7. Agreed, but it also must have a very definite definition

Otherwise Fundie Christians will claim we're "raping them with our eyes"

[bemildred]

8. Yeah, I always wondered what I was supposed to be interested in instead.

When you are just a big fancy male ape, it's sort of natural to be interested in other apes, and esp. cute little female apes of breeding age.

Nevertheless, one ought to be polite, and not stare at women who do not want to be stared at, or anybody else for that matter.

[Taverner]

9. But of course, but there is no such thing as "raping a woman with your eyes"

As the Dworkins and McKinnons would suggest