Academic

Rumney on Gender Neutrality & Rape

By Lawrence Solum

Philip Rumney (University of the West of England) has posted Gender Neutrality, Rape and Trial Talk (21 International Journal for the Semiotics of Law, Vol. 21, p. 139, 2008) on SSRN. Here is the abstract:

This article examines the notion of gender neutrality in rape, its meaning and why rape definitions that include females and males as potential victims of rape have become influential in those jurisdictions that have engaged in significant levels of rape law reform over the last four decades. In so doing, several of Annabelle Mooney's criticisms of gender neutral rape laws, published in an earlier article, will be critically examined. The second part of this article draws on themes that have been identified in the linguistic analysis of rape trials involving female complainants and applies those themes to two cases of rape and sexual assault involving male complainants. Finally, this article examines whether the tactics used by defence lawyers during cross-examination can be said to be uniquely 'gendered' or whether similar tactics exist in cases of male rape and sexual assault. Explanations for possible similarities in treatment are also examined.

Full post as published by Legal Theory Blog on January 27, 2009 (boomark / email).