(DE)CONSTRUCTING THE “PERFECT RAPE VICTIM”: AN ANALYSIS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT AND SURVIVOR DISCOURSES IN THE CANADIAN CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM

The Canadian criminal justice system has seen many progressive changes to the way sexual assault cases are investigated and prosecuted over the past several decades. From the acknowledgement of spousal rape to the introduction of rape shield provisions, the law has seemingly changed to broaden the definition of what is considered a sexual assault. However, sexually-based offences are still vastly underreported and have the lowest attrition rates of indictable offences. Larger societal discourses around sexual assault and survivor-hood consist largely of rape myths, such as the idea that “real rape” only occurs when an “undeserving” woman is sexually assaulted by a “stranger in the dark.” These discourses permeate the Canadian criminal justice system, negatively influencing the experience of survivors who do not fit the narrow mould “real rape.” Drawing from Norman Fairclough’s Critical Discourse Analysis and Stuart Hall’s Discursive Approach, this Major Research Paper traces the effects of these discourses on constructions of sexual assault and survivor-hood in the legal system. Through a theoretical analysis of existing literature on the experiences of sexual assault survivors, this paper also examines the ways in which the language we use to describe sexual assault serves to cement rape myths and invalidate survivor experiences in every stage of the Canadian criminal justice system.

(DE)CONSTRUCTING THE “PERFECT RAPE VICTIM”: AN ANALYSIS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT AND SURVIVOR DISCOURSES IN THE CANADIAN CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM

The Canadian criminal justice system has seen many progressive changes to the way sexual assault cases are investigated and prosecuted over the past several decades. From the acknowledgement of spousal rape to the introduction of rape shield provisions, the law has seemingly changed to broaden the definition of what is considered a sexual assault. However, sexually-based offences are still vastly underreported and have the lowest attrition rates of indictable offences. Larger societal discourses around sexual assault and survivor-hood consist largely of rape myths, such as the idea that “real rape” only occurs when an “undeserving” woman is sexually assaulted by a “stranger in the dark.” These discourses permeate the Canadian criminal justice system, negatively influencing the experience of survivors who do not fit the narrow mould “real rape.” Drawing from Norman Fairclough’s Critical Discourse Analysis and Stuart Hall’s Discursive Approach, this Major Research Paper traces the effects of these discourses on constructions of sexual assault and survivor-hood in the legal system. Through a theoretical analysis of existing literature on the experiences of sexual assault survivors, this paper also examines the ways in which the language we use to describe sexual assault serves to cement rape myths and invalidate survivor experiences in every stage of the Canadian criminal justice system.

Psychosocial implications of marital rape

The paper deals with spousal rape, an act of violence with a high degree of social danger and the elements by which the perception of marital rape is determined by the social and cultural context, by the religious affiliation, by local traditions as well as by society’s mentality. The aim of the approach was to highlight the correlation between spousal rape and patterns of conduct induced by this phenomenon on the family level, resulting in consequences that affect the sexual freedom of the person, and restrict a person’s right to protection of psychic and mental health. The techniques used in the research applied were the counselling and semi-structured interview, applied between September and December 2020, to a number of 13 women who experienced incidents of rape by their partner. Thus, we can consider that this particularly serious phenomenon induces major damage to the personality of the victim, who may suffer from depressive disorder, sex life troubles, sleep deprivation, addictive disorders and eating disorder.

Linguistic Intervention and Transformative Communicative Disruptions

What words we use, and what meanings they have, is important. We shouldn’t use slurs; we should use ‘rape’ to include spousal rape (for centuries we didn’t); we should have a word which picks out the sexual harassment suffered by people in the workplace and elsewhere (for centuries we didn’t). Sometimes we need to change the word-meaning pairs in circulation, either by getting rid of the pair completely (slurs), changing the meaning (as we did with ‘rape’), or adding brand new word-meaning pairs (as with ‘sexual harassment’). A problem, though, is how to do this. One might worry that any attempt to change language in this way will lead to widespread miscommunication and confusion. I argue that this is indeed so, but that’s a feature, not a bug, of attempting to change word-meaning pairs. The miscommunications and confusion such changes cause can lead us, via a process I call transformative communicative disruption, to reflect on our language and its use, and this can further, rather than hinder, our goal of improving language.

Getting, Being, and Staying Married

Marriage changes the legal status of a relationship in a unique way. Individuals’ adjusting to such a changes can be supported by active premarital education or counselling. Additionally, there are legal requirements to effect the status change of going from nonmarried to married. Those requirements are rather simple and generally only require a license and solemnization. One exception is that of the narrowly defined common law marriage. Being married brings with it a number of legal privileges and protections, and also responsibilities and liabilities. For example, there are marital privileges related to property, taxes, medical decisions, torts, and evidence. In the instance of spousal rape, there is a marital privilege for the perpetrator but not the victim.

Sexual Scripts and Criminal Statutes: Gender Restrictions, Spousal Allowances, and Victim Accountability After Rape Law Reform

The author provides a mixed-methods assessment of U.S. rape statutes to assess progress in reform. Contemporary statutes offer restrictive frameworks for distinguishing criminal from noncriminal sexual violence, many of which are grounded in gendered and heterosexist assumptions. Fourteen states retain gender restrictions in rape statutes. Twenty maintain marital distinctions that limit accountability for spousal rape. Furthermore, whereas explicit resistance requirements have been eliminated nationwide, implicit resistance expectations manifest through emphasis on physical force and involuntary intoxication. Analyses conclude with recommendations for further legal reform and a discussion of the potential for legislation to affect broader social perceptions of rape.

Women Exploitation: Violence against Women in India

Violence against women is very important and contemporary issue of discussion in India. In this regard, the policies of Indian government always have tried to overcome and solve the problem of violence against women by providing them valuable justice. But even after providing so many legislations and constitutional rights in favor of women by Indian government, still, women of India have faced many types of violence such as gang rape, spousal rape (marital rape) and sexual harassment especially. The present study is focused on the violence against women occurring in Indian society. The study reveals that very few women in India have approached to the help of police force in emergency situations, so that, there is a great need of conducting various awareness programs among women and Indian society about various preventive and remedial measures of violence against women. There must be to set up a women helpline team which serves as a quick redressal mechanism for protection of women against this mercy less crime.

Spousal rape: A challenge for pastoral counsellors

This article reflects on the criticism regarding the pastoral counsellor’s dealings with spousal rape victims. It argues that counsellors should be sensitive not to be biased, either personally or theologically, and should have an understanding of the biopsychosocial (biological, psychological and social) impact of spousal rape, such as rape-related post-traumatic stress and other related illnesses such as depression, victimisation and stigmatisation. The pastoral counsellors should be aware of the legal and medical ramifications of spousal rape and have knowledge of the correct referral resources and procedures (trusted professionals, shelters and support structures). They should be self-aware and understand the effect that gender or previous traumatic personal experiences may have on their reactions. The article consists of the following sections: the phenomenon ‘rape’; acquaintance rape; spousal rape; post-traumatic stress; post-traumatic stress disorder; rape trauma syndrome; cognitive behavioural therapy; spirituality; doctrinal matters; social system of patriarchy; a pastoral counselling model; self-care.