Rape in the United States

[2] Furthermore, a 2014 study suggested that police departments may eliminate or undercount rapes from official records in part to "create the illusion of success in fighting violent crime".

The UCR's definition of rape was changed on 1 January 2013 to remove the requirement of force against a female and to include a wider range of types of penetration.

[1] The new definition reads: Penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim.For 80 years prior to the 2013 change, the UCR's definition of rape was "carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will".

[16] Estimates from other sources typically report much higher levels of both rape and sexual assault than either the NCVS or UCR.

Both the NCVS and UCR are believed to significantly under-count the number of rapes and sexual assaults that occur.

This number excludes instances where men were "made to penetrate" another person, which are assessed separately under "sexual violence".

[40] The National Violence Against Women Survey found that 34% of American Indian female respondents had experienced attempted or completed rape in their lifetime.

She said that she never reported it because so many people did not trust the system, she blamed herself, she was ashamed and confused, and she thought she was strong but was made to feel powerless.

[6] When sufficient DNA or injury evidence was procured from a woman's body, she was more likely to follow through with the legal process of prosecution as there was more confidence in a favorable outcome for her.

Survey design including the questions and the sample quality and scope can also create wide ranges in rates.

Methodological differences, such as the method of survey administration, the definition of rape or sexual assault used, the wording of questions, and the time period studied contribute to these disparities.

[49] These policies have been sharply criticized by civil libertarians concerned that they are eroding due process and will lead to wrongful convictions of the innocent.

[50][51][52][53][54][55] A number of lawsuits have been filed against colleges and universities by students claiming to have been wrongfully expelled for rape they did not commit.

Some U.S. states (or other jurisdictions such as American Samoa) recognize penetrative sex without consent by the victim and without the use of force by the perpetrator as a crime (usually called 'rape').

Other states do not recognize this as a crime; their laws stipulate that the perpetrator must have used some kind of force or coercion (physical violence (that results in demonstrable physical injury), threats against the victim or a third party, or some other form of coercion) in order for such nonconsensual penetrative sex to amount to a crime.

If a crime is not committed within any state, such as in the District of Columbia or on a naval or U.S.-flagged merchant vessel in international waters, then federal jurisdiction is exclusive.

In cases where the rape involves both state and federal jurisdictions, the offender can be tried and punished separately for each crime without raising issues of double jeopardy.

The severity of the punishment is based on the use of violence, the age of the victim, and whether drugs or intoxicants were used to override consent.

[75] Insurance companies have denied coverage for rape victims, claiming a variety of bases for their actions.

[76] Some insurance companies have allegedly denied sexual-assault victims mental-health treatment, stating that the service is not medically necessary.

The effect of the VAWA 2005 forensic examination requirement is to allow victims time to decide whether to pursue their case.

Rape in this era was pictured to take place in a dark alley, a random stranger attacking a woman.

Private affairs, those between people who knew each other, did not require the same community intervention and surveillance that was demanded by more public attacks.

[81] Along with the misconception of strangers attacking women under cover of shadow and wielding a knife, black men, enslaved and free were often accused.

[83] The sexual abuse of the enslaved that occurred prior to the Civil War was so prevalent that it strongly influenced the genetic make-up of the overwhelming majority of African Americans alive today.

[84][85][86][87][88] White men who raped black women were protected by impunity under Southern society, and children of such unions usually inherited the status of their mothers as enslaved peoples.

Slave owners would attempt to justify the abuse of black women during slavery through the stereotype of the Jezebel, a seductive woman who wanted to submit to them.

[90] According to authors Judith Worell and Pamela Remer, because "African American women were sexually exploited during slavery" and because of stereotypes originating from slavery such as the Jezebel, black women "are not viewed as credible complainants, and are stereotyped (e.g., as promiscuous) in ways that blame them for their rapes.

The 1977 Supreme Court case of Coker v. Georgia held that the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution forbade the death penalty for the crime of rape of an adult woman.

Following the intensely publicized case of the 2005 murder of Jessica Lunsford, a nine-year-old girl from Florida who was kidnapped, raped and murdered by a man with prior convictions for sexual attacks, states have started enacting laws referred to as Jessica's Law, which typically mandate life imprisonment with a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years in prison, and lifetime electronic monitoring, for adults convicted of raping children under 12 years.