S3E21: Crime of Rape - Its Legal & Cultural History

Danny Masterson. Donald Trump. Did you know that rape is the most underreported crime?

Did you know that rape was originally a crime of trespass against property? Why property you may ask? Because the raped woman was deemed to be the property of her father or her husband!

But what if, in the above original definition of rape, the rape victim was an unmarried orphan? This is more than an academic question. Because, as my guest, Prof. Diane Rosenfeld explains, over time governments stepped in on behalf of rape victims. And therein lurks another problem: rape laws were written by men.

So rape cases were and are prosecuted with laws that reflect men's perspectives on this terrifying crime. It's no wonder that most prosecutors, in fact, try to dismiss allegations of rape and dissuade victims from bringing charges. And when rapes are prosecuted, only 2-4% succeed. 

In the last 30 days, we've had two high-profile rape cases - one civil, the other criminal. Donald Trump was not found liable for rape in the civil suit brought by E. Jean Carroll (although he was found liable for sexually abusing and defaming her). And Danny Masterson, the actor from "That 70s Show", was found guilty of two of the three counts of rape.

When it comes to violent crimes, rape seems to stand apart from others. For example, in other violent crimes, we don't generally ask the victims if they fought back or screamed. But we do that in rape. Also, victims of other crimes don't suffer from the social stigmas that rape victims do! I am referring to victim blaming.

So to better understand the legal, cultural and social history of the crime of rape, I spoke to Professor Diane Rosenfeld of Harvard Law School, where she teaches courses such as Gender Violence, Law and Social Justice; Theories of Sexual Coercion; and Title IX, which is the federal civil rights law that protects discrimination based on sex. In addition to teaching at Harvard Law School, Prof. Rosenfeld has taught several courses at Harvard College, including a seminar on Creating Cultures of Sexual Respect on Campus. Prior to teaching, she served as the first Senior Counsel in the Office on Violence Against Women at the United States Department of Justice and as an Executive Assistant Attorney General at the Illinois Attorney General’s Office.

Prof. Rosenfeld’s research areas include Title IX and campus sexual assault prevention and response; prevention of intimate partner homicide; and addressing commercial sexual exploitation of women and girls. Her current focus is creating a bonobo-inspired sisterhood among women to overcome patriarchal violence.

And if you are wondering what bonobo is, well, you've come to the right place, Prof. Rosenfeld is the author of The Bonobo Sisterhood: Revolution Through Female Alliance, a recent book that we discuss in this episode. To learn more about Prof. Rosenfeld, you can visit her academic page or personal website.

You may also be interested in my podcast conversation with Dr. Carrie Baker about the history of the movement against sexual harassment, which started in 1975. Startlingly, the rates of sexual harassment haven't changed much since 1975! And as Dr. Baker explains it, sexual harassment is about power!

I hope you enjoy these episodes.

Adel

Host of the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠History Behind News⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ podcast

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