About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

24 U.C. Davis L. Rev. 1013 (1990-1991)
When Will We Be Believed - Rape Myths and the Idea of a Fair Trial in Rape Prosecutions

handle is hein.journals/davlr24 and id is 1025 raw text is: When Will We Be Believed? Rape Myths and the Idea of a Fair Trial in Rape Prosecutions Morrison Torrey* As women, we live in the midst of a society that regards us as contemptible. We are despised, as a gender class, as sluts and liars. We are the victims of continuous, malevolent, and sanc- tioned violence against us - against our bodies and our whole lives. Our characters are defamed, as a gender class, so that no individual woman has any credibility before the law or in society at large. Our enemies - rapists and their defenders - not only go unpunished; they remain influential arbiters of morality; they have high and esteemed places in the society; they are priests, lawyers, judges, lawmakers, politicians, doctors, artists, corpora- tion executives, psychiatrists, and teachers. -Andrea DworkinI * Assistant Professor, DePaul University College of Law. Pauline Bart, a sociologist who has done extensive research concerning rape, first brought the issue of prompt complaint to my attention. At Pauline's urging, I became familiar with the enormous amount of empirical research in the area of rape myths and their power. The ideas for this Article evolved from a combined legal and behavioral science perspective. I need to acknowledge not only the able research assistance provided by Deborah Thornton, Brad Ipema, and Renata Krawczyk, but also their thoughtful suggestions. Many thanks go to the colleagues who kindly commented on an earlier draft: Pauline Bart, Susan Bandes, Mary Becker, Mary Coombs, John Decker, Judith Gaskell, Maria Hylton, Michael Jacobs, and Mark Weber. I also thank the Dean's Faculty Research Fund of DePaul University College of Law for supporting my work on this Article. Finally, I would like to thank Pauline for the inspiration and courage she imparts to all of us who hope that, someday, women will no longer be victimized and articles about rape will no longer be necessary. I ANDREA DWORKIN, OUR BLOOD: PROPHECIES AND DISCOURSES ON SEXUAL POLITIcs 42 (1976). [Editor's Note: At the Author's request, citations to books and periodicals include authors' first names. The Author and many other feminist legal scholars advocate this method of citation because it eliminates some of the dehumanization in citation of authorities, rejects the hierarchy that determines one form of writing (i.e., books) to be superior to another (i.e., articles), and reveals the extent and depth of scholarship by 1013

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most