scholarly journals Sexual Assault Cases at the Alberta Court of Appeal: The Roots of Ewanchuk and the Unfinished Revolution

2014 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janine Benedet
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Criminal Law ◽  
Law Reform ◽  
Sexual Offences ◽  
Rape Law ◽  
Rape Law Reform ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Court Of Appeal

This article surveys rape law reform efforts in Canadian criminal law by mapping these changes onto the decisions of the Alberta Court of Appeal. First, the article outlines how decisions in the 1970s and 1980s reflected ideas and assumptions about sexual offences. It then traces how these ideas were challenged in law reform efforts in 1983 and 1992. Next the article turns to the definition of non-consent and the Ewanchuk case, and how the reasons at the Court of Appeal reflect evolving attitudes to sexual assault. Finally, the article ends with reflections on sexual assault law following the Ewanchuk decision.

The Modern Politics of Sexual Assault Prosecution

2020 ◽  
pp. 13-18
Author(s):  
Matthew Barry Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Acquaintance Rape ◽  
Common Type ◽  
Reform Movement ◽  
Law Reform ◽  
Legal Process ◽  
Rape Law ◽  
Modern Politics ◽  
Rape Law Reform ◽  
The Us

This chapter presents and discusses the “rape law reform” movement that emerged in the 1970s. The movement sought reforms designed to encourage victims to make official reports and facilitate the successful prosecution of rape and sexual assault. The movement achieved legislative and practice reform, but there was no discernible increase in sexual assault convictions. The rape law reform movement solidified an alliance of concern that strengthened vigorous prosecution of “stranger rapes” but had little impact on the more common type of rape, “acquaintance rape.” Rape law reform advocacy produced dramatic and rapid legislative change, change that was clearly warranted not only for victims of sexual assault, but also reform that contributed to the integrity of the US legal process.

Rape Law Commonalities

2020 ◽  
pp. 57-74
Author(s):  
Stuart P. Green
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Criminal Law ◽  
Sexual Contact ◽  
Historical Overview ◽  
Rape Law ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Act Requirement

This chapter focuses on a range of issues common to all six of the rape paradigms that are described in subsequent chapters. It begins with a brief historical overview of rape law, observing a significant expansion in the definition of rape and sexual assault along two axes, namely, the kinds of sexual contact covered and the means by which nonconsent is manifested. It then considers the disparate ways in which the labels rape and sexual assault have been used, and makes an argument for retaining the term rape in the criminal law. Next, it considers how the physical act requirement in rape and sexual assault has been defined in a range of criminal codes, finally touching on some of the challenges of offense grading.

Rape Reform and Criminal Justice Processing

1985 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 191-205 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth Polk
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Law ◽  
Law Reform ◽  
Clearance Rates ◽  
Upward Trend ◽  
End Effects ◽  
Rape Law ◽  
Rape Law Reform ◽  
Criminal Justice Processing ◽  
Rape Reform

One goal of criminal law reform regarding rape has been to enhance convictions. Data from California, in which several such reforms have been introduced, indicate that between 1975 and 1982: (1) police clearance rates for rape have remained relatively unchanged; (2) the rate of court filings for rape increased slightly; (3) the probability of a conviction once a case reached court was relatively unchanged; but that (4) there was a strong upward trend for cases of rape (and other serious felonies) to lead to an institutional sentence. Questions are raised about whether these “deep-end” effects meet the intent of rape law reform.

Consent, Rape, and the Criminal Law

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katharine K. Baker ◽  
Michelle Oberman
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Law ◽  
Law Reform ◽  
Rape Culture ◽  
Unwanted Sex ◽  
Ample Evidence ◽  
Rape Law ◽  
Rape Law Reform ◽  
The Law ◽  
Reporting Rates ◽  
The Impact

This article explores the impact of rape law reform, both within and beyond the criminal law. The story of U.S. criminal rape law reform tends to be told as one of remarkable feminist success followed by widespread stagnation. Despite comprehensive changes in the law, reporting rates, prosecution rates, and conviction rates for rape increased only slightly. This article resists that binary account of success and failure by offering a more nuanced assessment. It argues that, by changing rape’s definition to an inquiry focused on whether the victim consented, the law has facilitated a shift in cultural and institutional norms governing unwanted sex. It is naïve to think that a change in law would, on its own, end rape culture, but there is ample evidence to support the conclusion that rape law reform has played a central role in reducing society’s tolerance of the rape prerogatives that have held sway for millennia.

Rape law reform in Britain

Society ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 57-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Hinchliffe
Keyword(s):  
Law Reform ◽  
Rape Law ◽  
Rape Law Reform

12. Theft

2020 ◽  
pp. 356-406
Author(s):  
David Ormerod ◽  
Karl Laird
Keyword(s):  
Supreme Court ◽  
Criminal Law ◽  
Civil Law ◽  
The Supreme Court ◽  
The Law ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Court Of Appeal

This chapter examines the law governing theft. It considers the extent to which the criminal law of theft conflicts with civil law concepts of property; whether it is possible to steal property that belongs to oneself; the types of property that may be stolen; and the extent to which it is possible to provide a definition of ‘dishonesty’. The test for dishonesty has been fundamentally altered by the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal, developments which are analysed in this chapter.

Rape Law Reform: How Far Have We Come?

1988 ◽  
Vol 68 (2) ◽  
pp. 3-10
Author(s):  
Diane M. Daane
Keyword(s):  
Law Reform ◽  
Rape Law ◽  
Rape Law Reform
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