Ruchi Baid, Jindal Global Law School
ABSTRACT
As per the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4)1 more than ninety-nine percent of rape cases are not reported, and in most of these cases, the crime is committed by someone who is known by the victim. Interestingly the word rape comes from the Latin verb ‘rapere’ which means to steal. There was no notion of sexual violence associated with the term rape till the 1400s2. It was merely considered stealing away a man’s property. The research paper explores the evolution of rape as a crime. It further aims to examine the social cause of rape, the psychology of rapists, social factors that promote rape culture, judicial delay particularly the test involved in defining rape, medical examination, and the difficulty in proving consent. It concludes by stating the consequences of this delay not just personally to the victims but to the entire society as a whole. Lastly, the paper attempts to examine the idea of rape beyond the commonsensical notion of it.
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