Introduction
- Rape cases have increased dramatically over the past few number of years
- While authorities have taken initiatives and implemented policies to bring the offenders to justice, there is a lot that needs to be addressed in this genre
- In the United States ,Self-help and other counseling groups have been developed to assist victims, families, and friends in coping with the aftermath of rape
How are the Rapists dealt with?
- Rape could be spontaneous or premeditated
- Spontaneous rape could be a result of sexual aggression while premeditated rape may be construed by acquaintances, a partner of even someone from within the family.
- The kind of punishment the offender has to bear is dependent on a number of factors:
- Will they be prosecuted on arrest?
- If not arrested will they be convicted?
Statistical Analysis
- In 2002-2003, an average 223,280 victims of rape were reported.
- 40 % of these were reported to law regulation authorities
- Across America, statistically speaking, every two and a half minutes, someone is made a victim of sexual assault.
The attitude of repeat offenders
- Study suggests that majority of repeat offenders end up becoming even more aggressive and bold after being convicted.
- Each subsequent offense after being released intensifies in its brutality.
- They become physically more aggressive and incorporate the use of knives, guns and other weapons
- Statistically, most of the repeat offenders are arrested in no more than 3 years after being released.
Convicted Rapists after Reform
- Post reform, convicted rapists are normally imprisoned in state institutions
- Prison sentences have declined from 35 to 27% whereas treatment facilities for inpatients have increased from 22 to 55%.
- The number of cases prosecuted have however been stagnant.
Who is responsible for the rape?
- There are multifaceted views by different people associated with this crime over the actual culprit.
- While the convicted say they were the women who said “No” but were actually provocative and deserved it, the victims downplay these charges.
- The more educated respondents have adopted a rather severe approach where they hold the rapists as solely responsible for the offense. They deny any kind of involvement by the women.
What should be the penalties?
- It could never be clarified precisely how a raped virgin would figure “the nature of act”
- Different kind of penalties of varying nature have been introduced by various state institutions.
- Border states had introduced death penalty for rapists in 1965
- Juvenile rapists on the other hand receive minimum punishment.
Conclusion
Prosecution of the rapists is not undertaken to the maxim by the judicial system today.
We have to put our foot down and ensure that they are brought to justice and filth is thrown out from the society.