Why do rapes barely get convicted?

Answer 1

Your question has a complicated answer.

First, one needs to define rape. I choose the following: Rape: any act of sexual intercourse that is forced upon a person.

Ok, so one is raped. That one must:
a) report the rape.
b) be able to identify the rapist.
c) the police must then catch the rapist.
d) there must be evidence there was a rape.

Now, d is tricky. You might not think it is, but it can be. A woman is raped by a man putting a gun to her head. She does not fight back. He does not hit her. There are no bruises. The rape exam is inconclusive. There is DNA evidence. She says "He raped me". He says "She picked me up in a bar and we had consensual sex. She got mad at me when I left right after."

There is evidence of sex, but not necessarily rape. He is admits to sex, not rape. And, he is innocent until proven guilty. A trial, let alone a conviction, is unlikely.

Then there is the problem of false rape reports. And, the problem of victims not being able to identify their attacker.

And, there is so many more reasons.

Answer 2

In any given year in the United States, depending on what statistics you look at, 250,000 to nearly 900,000 attempted or completed rapes occur. It is estimated that only sixteen percent of rapes and sexual assaults are reported to police.

Despite decades of advocacy efforts and awareness campaigns, juries continue to be skeptical of claims of rape and hold accusers to a higher standard than they do for other crimes.

In many states, a strict requirement that the accuser show the defendant used actual force to threaten her effectively blocks convictions even in extreme cases. Most states do not recognize a verbal "no" by a complainant as determinative of non-consent.

Answer 3

Without a witness or DNA evidence rapes are hard to prove. False reports are called in ever day from scorned lovers so I think the police don't take rape cases serious enough. A lot of cases go unreported because of this.

Answer 4

A lot of women feel ashamed(though they shouldn't) and don't even report them. About the rapes that get reported and not convicted, it is hard to prove that it actually happened.

Answer 5

False reporting is rare(but it does happen). Unfortunately many rapes go unreported for various reasons....very sad.

But many are tried and convicted. My friend was raped...they just has his trial..he got 30 some years...and will end up serving at least 18.

So yes, sometimes justice does happen....

Answer 6

Because they often go unreported. If they are reported, the defence portrays the victim as a whore. Testimony descends into a he-said-she-said, leaving the jury to sort out the facts.

Answer 7

The legal system in the US is based on the foundation that it's better for 1000 guilty people to go free than for 1 to go to prison.

Answer 8

Many rapes are convicted, though many also go unreported.

Answer 9

Maybe because there are so many false reports. It is also hard to prove without a witness - he said, she said.

Answer 10

its really hard to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that a rape is true