NCJ Number
175143
Journal
Journal of Law and Society Volume: 24 Issue: 4 Dated: December 1997 Pages: 552-568
Date Published
1997
Length
17 pages
Annotation
This article reviews the trend in the use of expert testimony on rape trauma syndrome (RTS) in the United Kingdom, examining the two arguments that are most often used to support the admitting of such evidence, i.e., that it can serve both an educational and a corroborative function.
Abstract
Expert testimony on RTS can help in redressing deficiencies in the average juror's state of knowledge about rape and victims' reactions to it. It can assist in counteracting rape myths that may influence jurors' inferences about the behavior of rape victims; for example, it is not uncommon for women to delay in reporting a rape and to bathe and scrub their bodies to remove all traces of body fluid or tissue that might help to trace the attacker. The use of expert testimony on RTS to corroborate the occurrence of rape, however, is problematic. Such evidence can easily be used against women in the same manner in which the construction of rape law has traditionally disadvantaged women. Specifically, women's experience of rape and any enduring trauma continues to be assessed by male norms; the prominence given to individual "diagnosis" diverts attention from the wider societal context within which rape occurs; and a diagnosis of RTS characterizes a woman as psychologically disordered, thus undermining her credibility. As the likelihood of British courts admitting RTS evidence increases, it is important that the potential consequences of admitting such evidence to corroborate the occurrence of rape be carefully weighed, such that women do not have to face a detailed scrutiny of their psychological and behavioral reactions to rape. 65 notes and references