this post was submitted on 20 Oct 2024
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In the modern day or historically? And would the perpetrator in this case be a man or a woman?
Because I can point you to an interview from about a decade ago where a prominent researcher of sexual assault (as in she coined the term "date rape" and is the origin of the 1 in 4 number you see sometimes) reacts in utter disbelief to the idea that a woman could rape a man, and when given an example where the man is drugged into compliance declares that situation to not be rape but just "unwanted contact".
In the UK, a woman cannot commit rape by law unless she is trans (rape requires the perpetrator to penetrate the victim with the perpetrator's penis, cis women simply lack the equipment).
In the US the definitions aren't that bad, but they're close. The FBI redefined rape a few years back in a way that allowed for the possibility of a woman committing it, but is also phrased in a way that implies only the penetrating party can rape.
In the UK we do have laws that allow women to be convicted for rape in all but name. Assault by penetration (with an object or body part other than a penis) is not classed as rape but does allow for the same maximum sentence. Similarly forcing someone to have penetrative sex with you also carries the same maximum sentence. The definition difference is, to some degree at least, semantic.