The use of a rape victim’s sexual history as evidence attracted intense public attention after the acquittal of footballer Ched Evans in 2017. Set within the context of a criminal justice system widely perceived to be failing rape victims, the use of sexual history evidence remains a flashpoint of contention around rape law reform. This accessible book mounts an important interrogation into the use of a victim’s sexual history as evidence in rape trials. Adopting a critical multidisciplinary perspective underpinned by feminist theory, the authors explore the role and significance of sexual history evidence in criminal justice responses to rape.

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lgrsnf/10.56687_9781529207842.pdf

United Kingdom and Ireland, United Kingdom

degruyter.com

{"isbns":["1529207843","9781529207842"],"last_page":200,"publisher":"Bristol University Press"}

Front Cover
Sexual History Evidence and the Rape Trial
Copyright information
Table of Contents
List of Cases
List of Statutes
About the Authors
Acknowledgements
1 Introduction: Setting the Scene
Setting the scene: from Ched Evans to #MeToo
What is this book about?
Evans and its aftermath
How this book proceeds
2 A History of Rape Law in Action
Why history?
The historical development of rape law
Rape law in (historical) action
Modern rape law
Conclusion
3 Emergence of a Legal Regime Governing the Use of Sexual History Evidence
Introduction: Hale’s legacy
Late complaints
Corroboration warnings
Complainant character
The rape trial at the end of the 18th century
The judicial development of evidentiary rules on sexual history evidence in 19th-century rape trials
Evaluating the use of complainant sexual history evidence in 19th-century law and practice
Crystallising the common law in the 20th century
Conclusion
4 Legal Regulation: Limits and Potentialities
Introduction: what constitutes sexual history evidence?
Scanning the juridic and policy landscape
England, Wales and Northern Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Scotland
New Zealand
Canada
Australia
United States
Recurring themes and patterns
Conclusion
5 Tracking the Use of Sexual History Evidence in the Courtroom
Introduction
Early studies
Sexual history evidence emerges as a legislative and policy concern
Studies conducted after the introduction of the SO(A)A 1976
Studies conducted after the introduction of YJCEA 1999
The views of legal professionals
The experiences of victims and victim support organisations
Rape myths research and jury studies
Rape myth studies
Jury studies
Sexual history evidence in the contemporary courtroom
Sexual violence research
Law-centred research
Conclusion
6 The Relevance of Sexual History Evidence
Introduction: the ‘logic’ of relevance
The logic of the twin myths
Law, power and epistemology
The relevance framework
Types of evidence
The role of probability
The relevance of a complainant’s sexual history to her credibility
The relevance of a complainant’s sexual history to consent
Playing the odds
Situational specificity
The fact of the allegation
Interrogating the gateways
Conclusion
7 Sexual History Evidence and Subjectivity
Introduction
Legal subjecthood
Rationality, reason and rape law
Sexual history evidence: subject or object?
The sexuate subject of rape law
The feminine sexuate subject
The masculine sexuate subject
Conclusion
8 Conclusion: What Is to Be Done about Sexual History Evidence?
Rape, law and justice revisited
Feminist research and the problem of rape and law
Normatively embedded ‘laws as tactics’
What is to be done about sexual history evidence?
Expunge sexual history evidence from the rape trial altogether
Continued reform of the legislative frameworks governing sexual history evidence
Procedural options
Final reflection
References
Index

2023-11-01