Is the sexual background of an alleged rape victim relevant?

Discussion Open Forum
1

Is the sexual history of an alleged rape victim important to know about in a trial?

  • Yes
  • No
  • It could be

0 voters

I am not a basketball fan at all but I am paying attention to the news surrounding the upcoming trial of basketball player Kobe Bryant. It is being reported that "Bryant’s attorneys want details of her sex life – especially in the three days surrounding her June 30 encounter with Bryant – admitted as evidence to suggest she was injured by someone else."http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4938785/

It seems to me to be totally irrelevant whether a woman who claims to have been raped had numerous sexual partners or was a virgin. The most important thing,IMO, is to determine whether the evidence can prove that an alleged rapist actually committed the crime. If yes, then he’s guilty. If no, then he walks. Thus, I have a question that I think may be interesting to discuss.

If you were on a jury in which an individual was charged with rape, would you want to know anything about the sexual history of the alleged victim?

2

I think the judge needs to decide what evidence/information is relevant to the case. I would have to trust the judge’s decision.

3

Difficult one, but I’d agree with Maoman – can’t make a reasonable decision without the facts of the case.
I’m thinking of another high-profile case in the Brit papers recently about a group of football players accused of raping several African women in Spain. They got banged up in a Spanish jail for several days, court appearances, faces splashed all over the papers, until it came out that their accusers were prostitutes, human smugglers and fraudsters looking to make a buck or five by selling their stories.
Did they get raped? Without the facts of the case, who knows? But I’d say in this case their backgrounds sure give grounds for “reasonable doubt.”

4

Interesting question, but I think you’re asking two separate things:-

  1. Is her sexual history relevant?

I’d say no.

  1. Could her injuries have been caused by someone else she’d been with sexually in the revelant time period?

This might be relevant, but IMO it’s a separate issue from her sexual history, although it would certainly form part of it.

5

If it was a violent rape, no.

If they say she consented before, then changed her mind afterwards, probably.

6

With DNA tests and other such technology able to determine physical evidence (vaginal tearing), this should be more or less decreasingly relevant. Neither the past sexual lives of the alleged rapist/alleged victim are relevant. The only matter that is relevant is the physical evidence that a crime was committed. Hearsay and gossip are not admissable evidence in most criminal cases (over the legal experts on Forumosa?)

7

In essence, it’s simply his attorneys trying to make the jury think “Did she ask to be raped by her manner of dress, behavior, etc.?”

Disgusting.

8

[quote=“ImaniOU”]In essence, it’s simply his attorneys trying to make the jury think “Did she ask to be raped by her manner of dress, behavior, etc.?”

Disgusting.[/quote]
I’m still trying to find a suitable link to the footballer story, but how do you react to that one? i.e. those guys were going D-O-W-N until it was discovered exactly who these women were.
Each case is different, of course, but I think it’s not quite as cut-and-dried as you make out.

9

Sexual history is relevant, if it is relevant.

Nothing is cut and dried in almost anything in life. There needs to be an arbitration process to identify relevant evidence. It’s a silly question.

10

The inherent problem of many cases like this, and sexual harassment cases, is that it often leads to a, “he said, she said” choice - and since none of us were there, none of us can say for sure. Human interactions, especially human sexual interactions, are mind-bogglingly complex.

11

I think it is relevant - if she has had many sexual encounters in the past there is a likelihood that she could have consented and then changed her mind. Regardless of the politically correct thinking these days, I think consenting and then changing your mind is extenuating circumstances that should be taken into account. I know of one case where the ‘victim’ waited while the man when to the story and bought a packet of condoms…she claimed rape but the DA threw out the case because she waited in the apartment for him to go to 7-11 and buy some condoms…then had dinner with him afterwards. Of course, the ironic thing about this story is the damn was done when she claimed rape and the university he wanted to attended banned him from campus because of his ‘sex crime.’ With no right to appeal, he had to switch universities…oh, well…life in America… :unamused:

12

If the “victim” is a real skank ho, then “rape” doesn’t really take anything of value away from her. Just an inconvenience, really. So yes, it’s relevent.

Here’s a related conundrum for you: If it’s illegal to use force to get sex, what about using lies to get sex? Should sexual fraud be illegal too–a kind of rape, really?

Examples: “Why no, I’m not married.” “It’s only a little cold sore, honey.” “I’m rich and you’re beautiful.”

13

If she’s had a history of sex at work with guys she didn’t know, it might be relevant. Especially if she’s also a little crazy.

14

[quote=“Screaming Jesus”]If the “victim” is a real skank ho, then “rape” doesn’t really take anything of value away from her. Just an inconvenience, really. So yes, it’s relevent.

Here’s a related conundrum for you: If it’s illegal to use force to get sex, what about using lies to get sex? Should sexual fraud be illegal too–a kind of rape, really?

Examples: “Why no, I’m not married.” “It’s only a little cold sore, honey.” “I’m rich and you’re beautiful.”[/quote]

Isn’t sex under false pretences considered rape?

15

I really can’t believe you wrote that, I’m hoping it was some kind of joke? In which case it would be in extremely bad taste but still better than the prospect that you’re serious. I don’t think I can actually begin to point out how far wrong this statement is because just thinking about it makes me too mad and irrational. :fume:

16

Not a very enticing appeal to debate, but still… Hell yes I’m serious. The girl in the Bryant case had been into gang-bangs. He didn’t exactly rob her of her virtue. I realize this is un-PC, that according to feminism a prostitute is raped when she is not paid.

My mother went back to college, and took some kind of feminism class where the girls started talking about their experiences. One of them said she’d been raped, but my mother thought that was a bunch of baloney, because the girl admitted to being drunk at the time. So which attitude do you think is healthier for girls to adopt, my mother’s or the feminist one?

17

[quote]according to feminism a prostitute is raped when she is not paid.
[/quote]
What the fuck are you talking about? A prostitute is raped when she’s forced into sex against her will, just like anybody else.

Well your mother should have paid a bit more attention in class. Guess the apple didn’t fall too far from the tree in your case, eh?

18

I think your mother’s viewpoint lacks common sense. I get drunk from time-to-time, but I do not think that my being raped is a reasonable consequence or outcome of being inebriated. In fact, I’m sure I would be quite surprised and displeased upon regaining my sobriety. :astonished:

19

Perhaps you might want to pick this up sometime, Screaming Idiot.

20

There’s more to a “sexual history” than just “did she have sex before, and how many times?”

I knew a woman in college who claimed to have been raped by a boyfriend. After learning more about her, I am thoroughly convinced that, if anything, she raped him.