I Supported Affirmative Consent Before It Was Cool (and Then I Gave Up On It)
decivitate.substack.com
A couple years ago, I was trying to figure out how best to deal with rape cases. Rape is simultaneously one of the worst crimes that can be perpetrated against an individual and one of the hardest to punish or prevent. As I wrote at the time: Our legal system, like every legal system, struggles with the problem of proving non-consent in rape cases. A rapist will often admit that sexual activity occurred, but will insist that it was consensual. The burden of proof falls on the victim. That is as it must be, since the defendant is innocent until proven guilty, but, under current law, it is very, very difficult to obtain that level of proof. If it turns into a case of "he-said/she-said", the rapist gets away with it. Few rape cases that lead to an arrest end in conviction and prison time. Partly because of how difficult they are to prosecute, few rape reports lead to an arrest in the first place. And, given the high costs and low chance of success offered by the justice system, relatively few rapes are reported at all. RAINN estimates that only 3% of bona fide rapists are sent to prison for their crime. This is a tragic injustice.
I Supported Affirmative Consent Before It Was Cool (and Then I Gave Up On It)
I Supported Affirmative Consent Before It Was…
I Supported Affirmative Consent Before It Was Cool (and Then I Gave Up On It)
A couple years ago, I was trying to figure out how best to deal with rape cases. Rape is simultaneously one of the worst crimes that can be perpetrated against an individual and one of the hardest to punish or prevent. As I wrote at the time: Our legal system, like every legal system, struggles with the problem of proving non-consent in rape cases. A rapist will often admit that sexual activity occurred, but will insist that it was consensual. The burden of proof falls on the victim. That is as it must be, since the defendant is innocent until proven guilty, but, under current law, it is very, very difficult to obtain that level of proof. If it turns into a case of "he-said/she-said", the rapist gets away with it. Few rape cases that lead to an arrest end in conviction and prison time. Partly because of how difficult they are to prosecute, few rape reports lead to an arrest in the first place. And, given the high costs and low chance of success offered by the justice system, relatively few rapes are reported at all. RAINN estimates that only 3% of bona fide rapists are sent to prison for their crime. This is a tragic injustice.