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Long overdue IMO....
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FBI considers redefining rape
A subcommittee plans to take up the issue later this month after criticism that the current definition — established in 1927 — is archaic and too narrow.
Reporting from Baltimore— The FBI is moving to change the federal definition of rape for the first time in 80 years, which authorities and women's advocacy groups hope will lead to improved tracking of such crimes and an attitude shift among investigators.
Critics have maintained that the current definition is archaic, too narrow, and leaves crimes uncounted in police statistics, resulting in fewer resources for victims and law enforcement.
A subcommittee of the Criminal Justice Information Service of the FBI plans to take up the task at an Oct. 18 meeting in Baltimore. Its recommendations will go to an advisory board and then to FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III for approval.
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Since 1927, rape has been defined as forcible male penile penetration of a female — which excludes cases involving oral and anal penetration, cases in which the victims were drugged or under the influence of alcohol, and male victims.
"In order for the public to combat violence in our communities, we need to know where it exists and what it looks like," said Carol Tracy, director of the Women's Law Project, which helped spur reform in Philadelphia a decade ago and has taken a leading role in the push to update the FBI's definition.
The New York Times first reported on Thursday the potential for change after police chiefs, sex crime investigators, federal officials and advocates convened in Washington to discuss the limitations of the federal definition and the wider issue of local police departments not adequately investigating rapes.
According to statistics released by the FBI in September, there were 84,767 sexual assaults nationwide last year, 5% fewer than in 2009. Sexual assaults have long been among the most underreported crimes, with an estimated 80% of assaults not referred to police, experts say.
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A subcommittee plans to take up the issue later this month after criticism that the current definition — established in 1927 — is archaic and too narrow.
Reporting from Baltimore— The FBI is moving to change the federal definition of rape for the first time in 80 years, which authorities and women's advocacy groups hope will lead to improved tracking of such crimes and an attitude shift among investigators.
Critics have maintained that the current definition is archaic, too narrow, and leaves crimes uncounted in police statistics, resulting in fewer resources for victims and law enforcement.
A subcommittee of the Criminal Justice Information Service of the FBI plans to take up the task at an Oct. 18 meeting in Baltimore. Its recommendations will go to an advisory board and then to FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III for approval.
>
Since 1927, rape has been defined as forcible male penile penetration of a female — which excludes cases involving oral and anal penetration, cases in which the victims were drugged or under the influence of alcohol, and male victims.
"In order for the public to combat violence in our communities, we need to know where it exists and what it looks like," said Carol Tracy, director of the Women's Law Project, which helped spur reform in Philadelphia a decade ago and has taken a leading role in the push to update the FBI's definition.
The New York Times first reported on Thursday the potential for change after police chiefs, sex crime investigators, federal officials and advocates convened in Washington to discuss the limitations of the federal definition and the wider issue of local police departments not adequately investigating rapes.
According to statistics released by the FBI in September, there were 84,767 sexual assaults nationwide last year, 5% fewer than in 2009. Sexual assaults have long been among the most underreported crimes, with an estimated 80% of assaults not referred to police, experts say.
>
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