Addressing Rape Reform in Law and Practice

The first comprehensive book on rape since Susan Brownmiller's Against Our Will and Susan Estrich's Real Rape, this volume probes every aspect of rape law and the discrepancies between ideal law (on the books) and real law (in action). Susan Caringella canvasses the success and failure of reform in the United States, as well as Australia, Britain, Canada, and New Zealand, and assesses alternative perspectives on rape reform, making use of theoretical models, court cases and statistical data. She uniquely delineates a creative model for change while addressing the discretion that undermines efforts at change. This includes charging the accused and plea bargaining, confronting a lack of transparency and accountability in implementing law, and acquiring funding for such changes.

Susan Caringella is a professor in the Department of Sociology, Criminal Justice Program, and of Gender and Women’s Studies at Western Michigan University. An internationally renowned expert on rape, feminism, and criminology, she is deputy editor of the Journal of Women and Criminal Justice and an editorial board member for the Journal of Violence Against Women and Feminist Criminology.