Quote Originally Posted by ProjectEuropa
The question still remains, is the blanket charge of rape one of the reasons why there are so few convictions? I know this question is emotive but as I pointed out before, we do not have a blanket charge for killing by calling all killings murder and to do so would reduce convictions of murder.
Rape is not, in fact, a blanket charge. There are many, many variations of sex crimes. Everything from aggravated sexual assault to indecency with a minor. Take your pick. "Rape" is just a term used to describe one or more forms of sexual battery on an unwilling partner.

And to answer your question: No. The "blanket charge" has no bearing on why there are so few rape convictions. Two-thirds of all rapes and sexual assaults go unreported. Out of the third that do get reported, about two-thirds of the victims are afraid to face their accusers in court, and wind up never making a court appearance. So when you take all of that into consideration, only about one in every nine rape cases is ever prosecuted at all. Out of the ones that do make it to trial, several lack the necessary physical evidence to overcome reasonable doubt. DNA/semen evidence is usually only viable for a short amount of time in a living body. So when a victim reports the crime a month after it has occured, and all the bruises have healed, the DNA is gone, and all that's left are the emotional wounds, then the case at that point is essentially unprosecutable.

You want to know why there are so few convictions for sexual assault in America? Because society perceives it as "wrong" to be raped. We have all ben taught from an ealry age not to let strangers touch our bodies inappropriately. We have also been taught that we must be emotionally "strong." So when it does happen, we're afraid to report it because we fear to look weak, or we fear that we have somehow "failed" ourselves or our parents, children, partners, etc. What's worse, is that something to the tune of 75% of all sexual assaults that occur are perpetrated by people we know. So now not only have we failed and made ourselves weak, but our trust has also been violated. Partner all that with the sheer emotional fear of actually having to one day sit in a witness box in front of a judge and jury and describe in detail how the man sitting at the table across from you violated you, and to relive the incident again and again as the DA coaches you and the trial takes place, and you have your answer in an ugly little package.

You ask why rape is so hard to prosecute. I ask: Why have we made it so hard for the victims to come forward in the first place?