International Law

Number of rapists who escape jail doubles

By John Hirst

I think that this headline is a classic example of media hype. It fails to take into account that the definition of what constitutes rape has been widened. For example, a 15 year old girl allowing her 16 year old boyfriend intercourse would now constitute rape. However, this type of crime is not in the same league as a man leaping out of the bushes and forcing himself upon an unsuspecting female passerby.

It also fails to take into account that each case has to be treated upon its own merit on a case by case basis. The mere mention of the word rape should not get us screaming "lock 'em up and throw away the key". I don't think that 803 custodial sentences out of 862 comes under an "only" this amount went to prison. It is a very high proportion of the total. The "only" should refer to the 59 who did not get custodial sentences. The fact that community sentences, conditional and absolute discharges were applied would tend to indicate that these cases did not fall into the serious category of rape where a lengthy custodial sentence was required.

Whilst the government is actively seeking to reduce the severe prison overcrowding, I do not believe that vulnerable women are being put at greater risk as this article is implying.

Full post as published by prisonlawinsideout on February 11, 2008 (boomark / email).