Rape and the Legal Process

This volume examines the way in which rape and other sexual offences are dealt with by the legal system. It examines in depth the substantive law and the evidential and procedural rules surrounding it. The impact of law reform in different jurisdictions is analysed and further proposals for reform are made.

---

For several decades public disquiet has been intermittently but vehemently expressed about the crime of rape and the way it is handled by the criminal justice system. But in the new millennium the legal process still fails to provide an adequate response to sexual violation and abuse. Rape and the Legal Process examines some of the difficulties which this crime presents and analyses in detail how the legal system could and should be addressing them. Central issues considered include the experience of rape victims, their treatment by the police and the courts and the inadequacies of the present law and the rules of evidence surrounding it. Changes enacted in many different jurisdictions, such as schemes for legal representation for victims of sexual violence are evaluated. This is a clear, comprehensive, contextual analysis of the current law, highlighted by a considerable amount of comparative material and detailed proposals for change. It will be of interest to practising lawyers, social workers, forensic medical examiners, teachers and students of criminal law, criminology and criminal justice, gender studies and sociology.