Juries in rape cases must decide whether the prosecution has proven there was no free and voluntary consent. And this is where broader societal attitudes come into play.
Metropolitan Police commissioner Cressida Dick has reminded the public of low abduction statistics, but instances of sexual misconduct in public are still alarmingly high
People protesting the gang rape and killing of a woman in Hathras, Uttar Pradesh, hold onto each other as policemen try to detain them in New Delhi, India, in September 2020. The gang rape of the woman from the lowest rung of India’s caste system sparked outrage across the country.
(AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
Because of its extreme violence, the Hathras rape sent shock waves throughout India: it is a disturbing reminder of the normalization of rape culture there and should be seen as a call to action.
When rape allegations are in the news, it can be a traumatic experience for survivors of past sexual violence. But there are ways to shield yourself from further trauma.
There are many legitimate reasons why survivors of sexual violence may not immediately report to police. But a delay in reporting, in itself, should not affect the credibility of the allegations.
In the wake of high-profile allegations of sexual assault, it is important people know there are informal avenues for survivors to report their stories.
Civil rights activists at a rally calling for the rescue of abducted Chibok school girls in Nigeria.
Pius Utomi Ekpei/AFP via Getty Images
Adolescent girls face unique challenges in times of conflict and crisis yet they are rarely consulted about how to engender peace in their communities.
Criminal trials may hold offenders to account but they are far from perfect. The Victorian Law Reform Commission is looking at how restorative justice could be used for sexual offences.
The protests carried on for days and continue to simmer in a country whose social fabric has been torn by toxic masculinity and a violent colonial past.
The country has one of the highest rates of rape in the world.
Sharon Seretlo/Gallo Images via Getty Images
Andrew Gibbs, South African Medical Research Council and Tarylee Reddy, South African Medical Research Council
Studies globally have made the link between the lack of adequate sanitation, particularly open defecation or shared community toilet facilities, and the increased risk of women and girls being raped.
Women get shut down when bringing up the still-taboo subject of sexual assault.
markgoddard/Getty
A scholar who studies Holocaust survivors sees an explanation for why women change their stories of sexual assault, even now in the
MeToo era.
Funeral for a woman and her 11-year-old daughter, both found dead inside a burnt out vehicle in Puebla state, Mexico, June 11, 2020.
Jose Castanares/AFP via Getty Images)
Reports of rape, domestic abuse and murdered women are way up in Brazil, Mexico, Peru and beyond since the coronavirus. But Latin America has long been one of the most dangerous places to be a woman.
A campaign against rape, domestic violence and child abuse in Lagos state.
Epa