Should there be a sexual assault crime?

[elwoodblues]

I don't know why I got thinking about this, but should we have a separate crime for sexual assualt/rape or, rather, should the nature of the assualt just be one factor in determining punishment.

If it is true that rape isn't about sex (it's about violence, control, etc.) then why do we treat it as a separate type of offense?

Any thoughts (other than comments about jackbooted thugs trying to take away my freedom)?

[TomCollins]

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I don't know why I got thinking about this, but should we have a separate crime for sexual assualt/rape or, rather, should the nature of the assualt just be one factor in determining punishment.

If it is true that rape isn't about sex (it's about violence, control, etc.) then why do we treat it as a separate type of offense?

Any thoughts (other than comments about jackbooted thugs trying to take away my freedom)?

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The damage done by a sexual offense is often greater than other offenses of similar natures.

[elwoodblues]

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The damage done by a sexual offense is often greater than other offenses of similar natures.

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Just as the damage done by hitting someone in the arm is different than torturing them in some way for hours. We can easily factor damage intended/caused into the punishment phase. Is there something fundamentally different about sexual assault where it is deserving its own crime (just as an aside, I think there might be, but I am curious to hear others' thoughts.)

[Luxoris]

I don't see the point. Its just a means of classifying and codifying a group of offenses. Whether they are "separate laws" or sub-paragraphs a general assault law is irrelevant.

[EvanJC]

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Is there something fundamentally different about sexual assault where it is deserving its own crime

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Well, its sexual in nature...is that not fundamental enough?

[elwoodblues]

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Is there something fundamentally different about sexual assault where it is deserving its own crime

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Well, its sexual in nature...is that not fundamental enough?

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Maybe, but for the fact that we are told that "it isn't about sex."

[NickMPK]

First, I think the whole "rape isn't about sex, it's about control/violence" is seriously overstated. Maybe it's true in the case of a certain type of rapist. But I think most pedophiles assault children because they are sexually attracted to children, not because they want to "control" children. And most date rapes occur because the guy really wants to have sex, not because he want to "control" his date, or he is seeking violence. Both of these people would much rather have consensual sex with their object of desire, and use rape/assault as a "last resort" to get it.

The key principle here I think is that you want to write laws so that it is easy for people to know when they are breaking them. The more specific crimes you define, along with specific gradations, the easier it is for people to stay within the law, and the less variation you will get in conviction and sentencing for similar offensive acts.

For example, how do you write a law that defines what is inappropriate contact with a child without making some reference to the sexual nature of the contact? Similarly, there are some forms of physical contact with adults that are socially acceptable without explicit consent when applied to certain parts of the body, but which would constitute a sexual assault if applied with similar "force" to other parts of the body. Writing a law that doesn't specifically distinguish these two situations would give too much power to the victim, the prosecutor, and the jury to determine when someone should be punished for what they though was socially acceptable contact, and would thus make it more difficult for the "offender" to know when he was within the law.

[bkholdem]

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Is there something fundamentally different about sexual assault where it is deserving its own crime

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Well, its sexual in nature...is that not fundamental enough?

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Maybe, but for the fact that we are told that "it isn't about sex."

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The fact of the matter is that the overwhelming majority of both consentual and non consentual sex are both initiated by males (especially the initial encounter). IMO the women's movement (read: women who want power and privelege for women- and do not want, fight for, or defend equality between man and women) made this view (it's about power) popular.

The women's movement is especially fond of pointing out things that men do wrong, and in particular in which there is a female victim. Of course men commit the vast majority of unwanted sexual advances, they commit the vast majoirity of ALL sexual advances, both WANTED and unwanted.

Ask a feminist of what significance the gender of a person who commits a sexual assualt is.

IMO since there is a special catagory of sexual assault crimes there should also be a special catagory of false reports of a sexual crime.

When a man is angry at a woman he can strike out and punch her on the nose (should he be so inclined).
When a women is angry at a man she can't strike out and punch the man on the nose for the same reason a man can not reach out and punch another man who is twice his size in the nose (save special circumstances in individual cases where one has special fighting skills or what have you). This does not mean that women do not get angry at men in equal amounts, or wish to do harm to men in equal amounts, they mearly out of necessity for self preservation need to find alternate means (such as getting their brother, boyfriend, or some man they are minipulating into thinking she is going to have sex with him to punch the guy in the nose; call the cops and make a false claim so the cops and judge metaphorically 'punch him in the nose', etc.

That is somewhat off topic but I think that since sexual assault is a separate crime (I have no problem with that and think in general the circumstances should determine punnishment) I think that there should be special penalties for false reports of sexual crimes because that is just as much about power and control as a sexual crime is, and arguably much moreso at least when compared to date rape scenario's.

I believe now the charge is a very benign 'filing a false police report' like if I call the police or go to the police station and say 'someone stole my watch, let me make a police report'. While in the instance of accusations of rape there is a targeted victim who is severely harmed. This is one area in which the criminal justice system mediating relations between males and females is very off kilter.

Ask a feminist if 'deriving support from prostitution' (this is what they charge pimps with) should be a crime and why. If they say stuff like because pimps beat and force the women to do prostitution ask her 'what about if the man is simply staying at home and looking after her needs but is not violent and does not push drugs on her or psychologically abuse her'? If she still argues that it should be a crime ask her:

Should deriving support from armed robbery, or deriving support from drug dealing, or deriving support from organized crime (as in wives and girlfriends of the 'criminals') be a crime.

rant over lol