Rape and Sexual Assault (Modern Statutes)

At common law, rape was defined narrowly as unlawful carnal knowledge of a woman by a man not her husband, by force and against her will. This definition contained several problematic limitations: it required physical force beyond that inherent in the act itself, it demanded that the victim physically resist to the utmost, it excluded marital rape, and it applied only to a narrow range of sexual acts. Modern reform has dramatically transformed this area of law.

Modern statutes typically replace the crime of rape with a broader framework of sexual assault or criminal sexual conduct, graded by severity. These reforms have eliminated the resistance requirement, replacing it with a focus on the lack of consent. Force is still an element in many statutes but is construed more broadly to include coercion, threats, and situations where the victim is unable to consent due to intoxication, unconsciousness, mental disability, or the defendant's position of authority. The marital exemption has been abolished in all U.S. jurisdictions, recognizing that sexual assault can occur within marriage.

Consent has become the central issue in modern sexual assault law. Many jurisdictions have moved toward an affirmative consent standard, requiring the defendant to obtain clear agreement rather than merely the absence of a "no." Some statutes define consent as freely given, reversible, informed, enthusiastic, and specific. Rape shield laws, enacted in virtually every jurisdiction, restrict the admissibility of the victim's prior sexual history, with narrow exceptions. Statutory rape applies when the victim is below the age of consent, regardless of actual consent, and is typically a strict liability offense with respect to the victim's age. These reforms reflect a fundamental shift from viewing sexual assault as a property crime against the victim's male relatives to recognizing it as a crime against the victim's bodily autonomy and dignity.