ABSTRACT
All in all, early modern norms and practices were designed to patronize “honourable” wives and daughters as well as to protect the rights of their husbands and fathers. As long as the woman acted according to her role as a good virgin or wife, she was considered as valuable resource of her guardian. This perspective is also seen in the legal texts, where it is difficult to distinguish between raping and “robbing” a woman from her family, the latter sometimes referring to a forbidden but mutually consensual action (Andersson, 2004, pp. 78-79; CCC 118-119 §, 159 §, 162 §; Gowing, 2003, p. 83; KrL, Larceny 1 §; Murray, 1995, pp. 111-122; Sauer, 1579, pp. 74-81). If the woman was known to have had sexual relationships before or outside marriage and she could not prove that she had resisted the attack properly, she was likely to be labelled a whore, which made her position significantly weaker in the legal process. De facto, this also concerned those who had earlier been victims of sexual violence. Moreover, women with a questionable reputation ran a higher risk of facing further violence.
