ABSTRACT
The crime of rape is regarded by many people, both within and outside the legal profession, as the most serious sexual offence, and indeed as one of the most serious of all offences. The very personal nature of the requisite physical act, together with the almost inevitable violation of the victim, makes rape one of the most feared and controversial crimes. The controversy surrounding rape is exacerbated in the eyes of many commentators by the commonly held view that the law itself – in terms of the legal definition per se, procedure, evidence, attitude of the relevant authorities, etc – is biased in favour of the male defendant, and against the victim who is virtually always female (and, prior to the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, was always female).
