We get a lot of enquiries from students and although we would love to answer each enquiry personally we just don’t have the resources. So the next best thing is a dedicated part of the site which hopes to answer most of the frequently asked questions.
- How many rapes?
- Who are the rapists?
- The law
- Home as a Haven?
- Tell me more about the rape crisis movement
- Can I interview a victim?
- Useful Reading List
How many rapes?
In 1999 the police recorded 7,707 incidents of rape.
Latest research on rape
Investigating and detecting recorded offences of rape
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs07/rdsolr1807.pdf
Section 41: an evaluation of new legislation limiting sexual history evidence in rape trials
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs06/rdsolr2006.pdf
It is widely accepted that police statistics represent just the tip of the iceberg because so few rapes are reported. A good starting point for up to date, more realistic ‘official’ statistics, is the Home Office. A useful document is Home Office Research Study 237 ‘Rape and sexual assault of women: the extent and nature of the problem’. This document makes the point that measuring levels of sexual victimisation is difficult, that only a small number of women report to the police and even getting people to talk freely to interviewers can be difficult. There work is based on the results from the 1998 and 2000 British Crime Survey (BCS). Their work gives information on lifetime experiences of sexual violence:
• Around 1 in 10 women (9.7%) said they had experienced some form of sexual victimisation (including rape) since age 16.
• Around 1 in 20 women (4.9%) said they had been raped on at least one occasion since age 16.
• The BCS estimates that approximately three-quarters of a million women (754,000) have been raped on at least one occasion since age 16. This includes approximately 61,000 victimised in the last year.
• There are several methodological reasons why these figures are likely to be under-estimates of the true levels of sexual victimisation in England and Wales.
Who are the rapists?
Women are most likely to be sexually attacked by men they know in some way, most often partners (32%) or acquaintances (22%). ‘Current partners’ (at the time of the attack) were responsible for 45 per cent of rapes reported to the BCS. ‘Strangers’ were only responsible for 8 per cent of rapes. These details confirm what feminist groups have known for a long time:
1 in 4 women suffer rape or attempted rape. Source: www.rapecrisis.co.uk
The most common rapists are current and ex-husbands or partners
1 in 7 married women said they had been forced to have sex compared to 1 in 3 divorced or separated women
91% of women told no one
97% of callers knew their assailant
Less than 7% had reported the assault to the police
The law
In early 1999 the Home Secretary announced a review of sex offences. The review culminated in the Sexual Offences Act 2003 . It gives new definitions of rape and sexual assault:
• rape redefined to include penetration of the mouth, anus or vagina by a penis;
• a new offence of sexual assault by penetration to deal with all other forms of sexual penetration of the anus and vagina (equally as serious as rape and carries the same maximum sentence of life imprisonment);
• a new offence of sexual assault to replace other non-penetrative sexual touching now contained in the offence of indecent assault.
For more information click here 'Rape Law Reform in England and Wales
Home as a haven?
There is a myth that the home is a safe place. But evidence from the 2000 BCS confirms that women are far more likely to be sexually victimised in their own home than any other location.
Nearly three-quarters (74%) of incidents involving partners occurred in the victim’s own home and a further 16 per cent occurred in the offender’s home. This is also the case in attacks by ex-partners.
There is no way of telling how many of the ex-partners were in the victim’s house without permission (possible stalking scenarios). Attacks by ‘dates’ occur in a variety of locations, but are most likely to occur in the home of the offender.
Tell me more about the rape crisis movement
There are currently around 35 groups affiliated to the national 'Rape Crisis', spread across England and Wales. These are poorly funded by local and central government and there is a postcode lottery of services for women. Many of these groups are voluntary and can only open for a limited period each week. Services available can include telephone helplines, face to face counselling, and advocacy and/or chaperone services for victims reporting to the police or going to court.
Can I interview a victim?
No, you probably cannot and TAR cannot help you get access to interview survivors of rape. Most rape crisis centres would also be reluctant to put you in touch with survivors of rape.
If you want to conduct research into rape you have to carefully consider the ethical issues involved in interviewing survivors of rape. It is a very sensitive area to research and we would suggest that you discuss this in detail with your supervisor.
Useful Reading List
Anderson, J. (2001) The Date Rape Epidemic: Profitable Myth? http://www.spiritone.com/~law/epidemic.html
Basile, K. (1999) Rape by Acquiescence: The ways in which women "give in" to unwanted sex with their husbands. Violence Against Women, 5, 9: 1036-1058.
Berrington, E. and Jones, H. (2002) ‘Reality vs Myth: Constructions of Women’s Insecurity’ Feminist Media Studies Vol 2 No3.
Brownmiller, S. (1976) Against Our Will: Men, Women and Rape. Harmondsworth: Penguin.
Budd, T. and Mattinson, J. (2000) The extent and nature of stalking: findings from the 1998 British Crime Survey.Home Office Research Study 210, London: Home Office.
Burgess, A. and Holmstrom, L. (1974) Rape: Victims of Crisis. Baltimore: Bowie.
Campbell, R. and Johnson, C.R. (1997) ‘Police officers’ perceptions of rape: Is there inconsistency between state law and individual belief’. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 12, 255-274.
Cook, K. (1997) ‘Raging Against Rape’. Trouble and Strife, vol.35 Summer 1997.
Cook, K. "When is Rape a Real Crime?" New Law Journal, 10 Dec 1999, pp.1856 & 1871.
Culbertson, K. and Dehle, C. (2001) Impact of Sexual Assault as a Function of Perpetrator Type. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 16, 10: 992-1007.
Estrich, S. (1987) Real Rape. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
Farrell, W. (1994) The Myth of Male Power. London: Fourth Estate.
Gregory, J. and Lees, S. (1999) Policing Sexual Assault. London: Routledge.
Hagemann-White, C. (2001) European Research on the Prevalence of Violence Against Women. Violence Against Women, 7, 7 :732-759.
Hall, R. (1985) Ask Any Woman: A London inquiry into rape and sexual assault. London: Falling Wall Press.
Hansard, (20 July 2000) House of Commons Written Answers. Number of rapes in 12 month period 1999-2000 – Column 326W.
Harris, J. and Grace, S. (1999) A Question of Evidence? Investigating and Prosecuting Rape in the 1990s. Home Office Research Study 196, London: Home Office.
Jones, H. (2003) Rape, Consent and Communication: Re-setting the boundaries? Contemporary Issues in Law, vol 6 Issue 1.
Jones, H. and Cook, K. (2007) Surviving Victimhood: The Impact of Feminist Campaigns in S. Walklate Handbook on Victims and Victimology. Willan.
Jones, H. (2006) Visibility and Consent: The Sexual Abuse of Elderly Women, in J. Powell and A. Wahidin (eds) Foucault and Aging. New York: Nova Science.
Jones, H. (2006) ‘Towards Rights: Useful Sources on Violence Against Women’. Social Policy and Society. Vol 5, (1): 161-165.
Jones, H. and Powell, J. (2006) ‘Old Age, Vulnerability and Sexual Violence: Implications for Knowledge and Practice’. International Nursing Review. Issue 53 (3): 211-216.
Jones, H. and Wachala, K. (2006) ‘Watching Over the Rights of Women’. Social Policy and Society. Vol 5, (1): 127-136.Kelly, L. (1988) Surviving Sexual Violence. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Jones, H. (2004) ‘Opportunities and Obstacles: The Rape Crisis Federation’. The Journal of Interdisciplinary Gender Studies Vol 8. No. 1&2: 55-71.
Kelly, L. (1990) ‘Journeying in Reverse: Possibilities and Problems in Feminist Research on Sexual Violence’, in L. Gelsthorpe and A. Morris (eds.) Feminist Perspectives in Criminology. Milton Keynes: Open University Press.
Kelly, L. And Regan, L. (2001) Rape: The Forgotten Issue? A European research and networking project. London: Child and Woman Abuse Studies Unit, University of North London.
Koss, M. (1993) Detecting the Scope of Rape – A Review of Prevalence Research Methods. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 8, 2: 198-222.
Koss, M. (2000) Acquaintance Rape: A Critical Update on Recent Findings with Application to Advocacy.
Lees, S. (2000) ‘Marital Rape and marital murder’, in J. Hanmer and C. Itzin (eds.), Home Truths About Domestic Violence: feminist influences on policy and practice, a reader. London: Routledge.
Painter, K. (1991) Wife Rape, Marriage and the Law – Survey Report: Key Findings and Recommendations. Manchester: Faculty of Economic and Social Studies, University of Manchester.
Painter, K. and Farrington, D. (1998) ‘Marital violence in Great Britain and its relationship to marital and non-marital rape’, International Review of Victimology, vol.5.
RCF (2001) Report 1999-2001. Nottingham: Rape Crisis Federation of Wales and England.
Setting the Boundaries: Reforming the law on sex offences. London: Home Office, July 2000.
Soothill, K. and Walby, S. (1991) Sex Crime in the News. London: Routledge.
Stewart, M.W., Dobbin, S. and Gatowski, S. (1996) ‘‘Real rapes’ and ‘real victims’: the shared reliance on common cultural definitions of rape’, Feminist Legal Studies, 4, 159.
Temkin, J. (1986) ‘Women, rape and law reform’, in S. Tomaselli and R. Porter, Rape: An historical and cultural enquiry. Oxford: Blackwell.
Temkin, J. (1987) Rape and the Legal Process. London: Sweet and Maxwell.
Temkin, J. (1997) ‘Plus ca change: reporting rape in the 1990s’, British Journal of Criminology, 37, 507.
Temkin, J. (2000) ‘Prosecuting and Defending Rape: Perspectives From the Bar’, Journal of Law and Society, vol. 4, no.2 pp219-48.
Walby, S. and Myhill, A. (2001) New Survey Methodologies in Researching Violence Against Women. British Journal of Criminology, 41:502-522.
Requests for Home Office Publications
These can be obtained from:
Home Office
Research, Development and Statistics Directorate
Communication Development Unit
Room 275, Home Office
50 Queen Anne’s Gate
London SW1H 9AT
RDS website at:
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/index.html
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