Gender Inequalities in Law

*************************************

WARNING
 
This post is going to cover issues relating to the topic of rape. If you have been a victim of rape this post could potentially trigger you. If this could be the case, please do not read this particular post.

**************************************

After witnessing an argument on social media about this topic I felt compelled to write this post. To any right-wing feminists who do not agree I don't care. Gender Inequality is not a uniquely women problem so if you have an issue with this post - deal with it.

I know there are many feminists out there who claim that the world is not fair and equal for women. It is true there are many things where the gender divide is an issue. There is one particular issue however that is unequal down the gender lines and that is the issue of rape.

Whilst yes, there are many inequalities in this topic for women, you can not hide the fact there are inequalities against men as well.

So, what is the definition of Rape?

Legal Definition:  'penetration with a penis of the vagina, anus or mouth of another person without their consent.

As you can see the legal definition is already geared against men and lesbians. If you want to put this into terms of same-sex rape cases if it is woman on woman, the definition proffers the idea that a lesbian woman can not be raped by another woman because the attacker does not have a penis. This definition also proffers the idea that a man can’t be raped by a woman because the genitalia is the wrong way round in the scenario.

I have also heard arguments that if a man is “hard” he wants sex. This is not always the case. Even if a man is turned on but does not want to have sex then it is rape. This argument is basically saying, “if you find someone attractive and your hormones start running and you get hard then whatever happens is your fault.” Just because men get turned on easy and it is obvious, it does not mean that they can not be raped. It would be like saying that if a woman makes out with someone in a bar because she is turned on, but she decides to leave alone, but the guy follows her out to have sex and she doesn’t want it then it’s her fault. This is seriously wrong.

Yet again there is another viewpoint that if men and women climax during the incident then it is not rape. That is a ridiculous view.

If anyone out there has been raped and this has happened, you have been raped, its not your fault and do not feel ashamed. I say again, it was not your fault. Hormones can not be controlled. They are not controlled by an on-off switch. They will kick in whenever they want to and so climaxing is not an indicator as to whether a rape is a rape.

This is archaic wording and should be abolished. Rape simply means someone has been forced to have sex against their will and without giving consent. Because of this archaic wording it also causes people, who have been raped in some of the situations above, to not report that they have been raped. They believe that they will not be believed.

There is also a sociological issue where men are concerned that they will be judged as less than a man whether they are heterosexual or homosexual.

What really frustrates me on this topic is that a male child under the age of 18 can be raped by someone in a position of authority, however, an adult man can not be classed as a rape victim under this wording in the law unless it was by another man.

The definition should be seen as this; “the act of engaging in sexual conduct, either through physical, mental, or psychological force or manipulation, with a person against their will and/or without their consent”.  This would cover all genders and partner situations. This would cover both homosexual, asexual, heterosexual couplings. There should be mandatory training on all police personnel to help promote new language and repercussions for any officer who dismissed rape allegations based on gender.

There also needs to have better protection of all rape victims. Whilst I understand that an accused rapist is entitled to make a defence of the action, it is absolutely unconscionable that a defence can be “well you led him on” or “what did you think would happen by wearing that outfit”. This is something that women face in the criminal justice system. There should be a clause where the defence needs to provide unequivocal proof to the judge before the trial absent of the jury and the victim. The judge can look at the unequivocal proof and make a decision as to whether this defence can be used.

Rape is the only crime where a victim can be put on trial. In a case where a guy is put into a coma by someone with a baseball bat the defence will not ask "You were asking for it by wearing XXX" or that a victim in attempted murder was "asking for it". Rape however can be tried like that in court and it is disgusting. It is another reason why there are many people who do not report the crime. They know what the trial will be like and do not want to go through that.

Honestly, rape is the one gender levelling issue because both men and women are equally treated unequally. They are both treated unfairly in different ways.

If you want to create a truly equal society then both sides of the coin need to be equal in EVERY WAY.