NCJ Number
90919
Journal
Revue de droit penal et de criminologie Issue: 3 Dated: (March 1983) Pages: 277-285
Date Published
1983
Length
9 pages
Annotation
The French law of December 23, 1980, has modified penal statutes on rape in favor of the rape victim.
Abstract
Formerly, French legislation on rape was both ineffective and unrealistic: on the one hand, it was based solely on social considerations; on the other hand, theoretical rights were rarely put into practice, and the number of rape prosecutions was insignificant compared with the acknowledged cases of rape. Henceforth, the psychological implications and consequences of sexual assault will be considered routinely, and any physician of the rape victim's choosing will be allowed to provide evidence of rape. The new law will facilitate the initiation of civil suits on behalf of rape victims. Moreover, it will permit the rape victim herself to determine how much publicity will be given to the assault and to the rape prosecution. All proceedings will be held in camera at her request. The rape victim has always been at the center of the problems created by rape laws. Until now she was often treated as the guilty party, a circumstance that allowed many proven rapists to escape prosecution. If the law of December 23, 1980, is enforced, the rape victim will become the absolute master of the rape prosecution, in defiance of several fundamental principles of the penal process.