The Mistake of Fact Excuse in Queensland Rape Law

2020 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-32
Author(s):  
Jonathan Crowe ◽  
Bri Lee
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Social Behaviour ◽  
Rape Law ◽  
Voluntary Consent ◽  
Definition Of

This article considers the role of the excuse of mistake of fact in Queensland rape and sexual assault law. We argue that the excuse has undesirable and socially regressive consequences by allowing reference to factors such as the complainant’s social behaviour, relationship to the defendant or lack of overt resistance that are at odds with the definition of free and voluntary consent. The excuse has also led to problematic results in cases involving impaired capacity (such as intoxication, mental incapacity or linguistic incapacity) by the defendant or the complainant. We canvass two potential reforms aimed at addressing these issues. The first would render the excuse inapplicable to the issue of consent in rape and sexual assault cases, while the second would limit the excuse to address its most troubling outcomes.

scholarly journals Beyond the Binary: Rethinking Gender Neutrality in Indian Rape Law

2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 367-397
Author(s):  
Harshad PATHAK
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Rape Law ◽  
The Common ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Human Rights Based Approach ◽  
Gender Neutrality ◽  
Gender Specific ◽  
Indian Penal Code

AbstractDespite expanding the definition of rape under the Indian Penal Code to include non-penile-vaginal acts of penetration, the said definition continues to conform to a gender-specific notion of rape, based on a predetermined characterization of the victim-perpetrator framework on the basis of their genders. Herein, I will critique this idea of gender specificity in Indian rape law on the grounds that it reinforces a binary notion of gender, and results in gross underinclusion. Instead, it is more appropriate to adopt a human-rights-based approach in defining the offence of rape, and negate the role of gender in identifying the victims and perpetrators of an act of rape. The argument is pillared on a state’s obligation to not discriminate on the basis of sex, the recognition of transgender rights, and an assessment of the common grounds for opposing gender neutrality in Indian rape law.

scholarly journals Sexual Assault Cases at the Alberta Court of Appeal: The Roots of Ewanchuk and the Unfinished Revolution

2014 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janine Benedet
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Criminal Law ◽  
Law Reform ◽  
Sexual Offences ◽  
Rape Law ◽  
Rape Law Reform ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Court Of Appeal

This article surveys rape law reform efforts in Canadian criminal law by mapping these changes onto the decisions of the Alberta Court of Appeal. First, the article outlines how decisions in the 1970s and 1980s reflected ideas and assumptions about sexual offences. It then traces how these ideas were challenged in law reform efforts in 1983 and 1992. Next the article turns to the definition of non-consent and the Ewanchuk case, and how the reasons at the Court of Appeal reflect evolving attitudes to sexual assault. Finally, the article ends with reflections on sexual assault law following the Ewanchuk decision.

Rape Law Commonalities

2020 ◽  
pp. 57-74
Author(s):  
Stuart P. Green
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Criminal Law ◽  
Sexual Contact ◽  
Historical Overview ◽  
Rape Law ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Act Requirement

This chapter focuses on a range of issues common to all six of the rape paradigms that are described in subsequent chapters. It begins with a brief historical overview of rape law, observing a significant expansion in the definition of rape and sexual assault along two axes, namely, the kinds of sexual contact covered and the means by which nonconsent is manifested. It then considers the disparate ways in which the labels rape and sexual assault have been used, and makes an argument for retaining the term rape in the criminal law. Next, it considers how the physical act requirement in rape and sexual assault has been defined in a range of criminal codes, finally touching on some of the challenges of offense grading.

Rape Myths

1994 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 133-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kimberly A. Lonsway ◽  
Louise F. Fitzgerald
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Sexual Aggression ◽  
Rape Myths ◽  
Rape Myth Acceptance ◽  
Rape Myth ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Immense Potential ◽  
Myth Acceptance

Theories of sexual aggression and victimization have increasingly emphasized the role of rape myths in the perpetuation of sexual assault. Rape myths are attitudes and generally false beliefs about rape that are widely and persistently held, and that serve to deny and justify male sexual aggression against women. Acceptance of such myths has been assessed with a number of measures, and investigators have examined its relationship with numerous variables and interventions. Although there has been extensive research in this area, definitions, terminology, and measures of rape myth acceptance (RMA) continue to lack adequate theoretical and psychometric precision. Despite such criticisms, we emphasize that the significance of this type of research cannot be overstated because it has immense potential for the understanding of sexual assault. The present article offers a theory-based definition of rape myths, reviews and critiques the literature on rape myth acceptance, and suggests directions for future research. In particular we argue that such work must include the development and application of improved measures, with more concern for the theoretical and methodological issues unique to this field.

Tools, techniques and animals: the role of mediations of actions in the dynamics of social behaviours

1999 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 367-407 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dominique Lestel ◽  
Emmanuelle Grundmann
Keyword(s):  
Present Article ◽  
Tool Use ◽  
Social Behaviour ◽  
Animal Population ◽  
Structure And Dynamics ◽  
The One ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Animal Societies ◽  
Social Behaviours

The definition of tool proposed by Beck (1980) is still the one referred to in ethology when discussing the question of tool-use in animals, and its pertinence is rarely questioned. However, observations on technical behaviours in animals have multiplied over the last 20 years, and these have profoundly altered our earlier representations. In the present article, we show that Beck's definition is insufficient and that it does not, in fact, work. More generally, we replace a theory of tools with a theory of mediations of actions to account for technical behaviours in animals. We show that a culturally overcharged notion such as that of tool hinders our perception of the diversity and the complexity of tool uses. By speaking of mediations of actions and not of tools, we eliminate the problem of first defining the pertinent object (is it a tool or not?) and are free to concentrate on the means by which the animal externalizes its actions and thus procures greater means of acting on these within a group. In so doing, we prepare the ground for a genuine evolutionary understanding of the dynamics of actions within a given animal population. Whereas, with a few exceptions, ethologists have always separated the question of techniques from that of social behaviour, we emphasize the importance of an ecology of mediations of actions for understanding the structure and dynamics of animal societies, in particular by attempting to rethink such notions as “culture” in the perspective of a general analysis of mediations of actions.

scholarly journals Sex Must Be Voluntary: Sexual Communication and the New Definition of Rape in Sweden

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (5) ◽  
pp. 734-752
Author(s):  
Linnea Wegerstad
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Communication ◽  
Individual Choice ◽  
Media Campaigns ◽  
Rape Law ◽  
Health Social Media ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Sex Offense ◽  
Late Modern

AbstractMany countries are in the process of replacing outdated sex offense regulations with laws that accurately correspond to late modern ideas about gender equality, sexual self-determination, and consensual sex. One example is Sweden, where a law that defines rape based on a criterion of nonvoluntary participation entered into force in 2018. This article analyzes the representation of rape in the new law and legal discourse in Sweden, and shows that rape is represented as a matter of choice and communication in sexual situations. Further, the new rape law is coupled to an emerging problem within such disparate spheres as public health, social media campaigns, sexual education, and gender studies; namely, the problem of sexual communication and gray zones in sexual encounters. To understand this new representation of rape, further exploration is suggested both into the effects of sexual violence being framed as a matter of individual choice, consent, and communication in late modernity and into the role of criminal law in the era of thin normativity. The article concludes that the new rape law sends a clear message about what sex should be—namely, something voluntary—but does not accurately describe the crime and the conduct that deserves criminal censure.

Challenges of Fear Conditioning Research in the Age of RDoC

2017 ◽  
Vol 225 (3) ◽  
pp. 189-199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tina B. Lonsdorf ◽  
Jan Richter
Keyword(s):  
Fear Conditioning ◽  
Clinical Diagnosis ◽  
Research Domain Criteria ◽  
Major Focus ◽  
The Future ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Methodological Considerations ◽  
Research Domain

Abstract. As the criticism of the definition of the phenotype (i.e., clinical diagnosis) represents the major focus of the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) initiative, it is somewhat surprising that discussions have not yet focused more on specific conceptual and procedural considerations of the suggested RDoC constructs, sub-constructs, and associated paradigms. We argue that we need more precise thinking as well as a conceptual and methodological discussion of RDoC domains and constructs, their interrelationships as well as their experimental operationalization and nomenclature. The present work is intended to start such a debate using fear conditioning as an example. Thereby, we aim to provide thought-provoking impulses on the role of fear conditioning in the age of RDoC as well as conceptual and methodological considerations and suggestions to guide RDoC-based fear conditioning research in the future.

The Role of Nightmares in PTSD: Intercorrelations of Distress Following Sexual Assault

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachael Swopes ◽  
Joanne Davis ◽  
Marsha Siebenmorgen ◽  
Elana Newman ◽  
Kathy Bell
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Assault
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