ABSTRACT
Rape, and rape law, have been key sites of feminist struggle – whether nationally, regionally or internationally – for decades. The need to lift the veil of privacy in order to protect the vulnerable has been increasingly acknowledged and respect for a person’s right to sexual and bodily integrity has become a prevalent theme in contemporary legal and policy discourse. At the same time – and despite the fact that, in several countries, there has been a marked increase in the number of sexual assaults reported to police – conviction rates for rape typically remain disconcertingly low. There is convincing evidence which suggests that spurious and highly gendered ‘rape myths’ continue to inform both the popular and penal imagination; and rape complainants who make it into the courtroom often still endure invasive and hostile questioning from defence counsel without any form of representation, and often with inadequate witness preparation or post-trial support.
