In a move that has been a long time coming, the FBI is finally considering expanding the 80 year old definition of the word “rape.” According to the FBI, there were 84,767 rapes in the US in 2010, a 5% drop from 2009.
However, those numbers are skewed. The current definition of ‘rape’ is “the carnal knowledge of a female, forcibly and against her will.”
According to the New York Times:
But that definition, critics say, does not take into account sexual-assault cases that involve anal or oral penetration or penetration with an object, cases where the victims were drugged or under the influence of alcohol or cases with male victims. As a result, many sexual assaults are not counted as rapes in the yearly federal accounting.
“The data that are reported to the public come from this definition, and sadly, it portrays a very, very distorted picture,” said Susan B. Carbon, director of the Office on Violence Against Women, part of the Department of Justice. “It’s the message that we’re sending to victims, and if you don’t fit that very narrow definition, you weren’t a victim and your rape didn’t count.”
Steve Anderson, chief of the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department, said that the F.B.I.’s definition created a double standard for police departments.“We prosecute by one criteria, but we report by another criteria,” Chief Anderson said. “The only people who have a true picture of what’s going on are the people in the sex-crimes unit.”
The issue will be addressed by an FBI subcommittee on October 18.
what’s the big deal? the gay community is finally seeing some of that equality they’ve been crying out for.
Is that two guys in the featured picture? Only curious.