Rape, Prosecution Rates of

Rape Prosecution Rates are often used to judge how well a particular justice system is combating the crime of rape by measuring how many rapists have been prosecuted. It is, however, important to distinguish among unreported claims of rape; reported claims of rape, which sometimes never go to trial; prosecution rates; and actual conviction rates. The vast majority of these rape cases are perpetrated by adult heterosexual males, and most victims or survivors are women.

Rape prosecution and conviction rates are very low worldwide; research from the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Ghana, and Sweden has shown that the number of women reporting rape to the authorities is usually below 10 percent. Sometimes crimes go completely unreported, as in the Ghana National Survey. The number of rapists finally convicted is usually a very small percentage of those who are identified and/or tried in court, and though prosecution and conviction rates vary internationally, worldwide attrition is endemic.

The vast majority of rape cases are perpetrated by adult heterosexual males, and most victims or survivors are women.

The failure to properly prosecute rape cases and convict rapists tends to be attributed to two factors: the prevalence of “rape myths” in public opinion and the judicial system;, and the intimidating tactics of defense teams in rape cases, which refocus both the judge's and jury's attention on the moral fiber of the rape survivor rather than on the rapist. The situation is slightly different when rape is tried as a war crime, or a crime against humanity, though rates of prosecution and conviction are still low.

Factors like the race, age, and job of the perpetrator and of the victim are significant in rape cases. In the United States, black men are far more likely to be convicted of rape than white men, and, historically, in the West, working-class and black survivors of rape have been far more likely to be disbelieved than their middle-class or white counterparts. Juries can be [Page 1209]influenced by the victim's presented character, behavior, and possible drug or alcohol use. In a British poll conducted by Amnesty International in 2006, substantial numbers of respondents blamed the survivor for her own rape if she was drunk (37 percent), if she was wearing sexy or revealing clothing (26 percent), or if she had many sexual partners (22 percent). Juries are more likely to find a rapist guilty in cases where the assailant is a stranger, when a weapon is used, or when the rape survivor is physically injured. All of these responses reveal the power of rape myths surrounding women's consent to sexual acts.