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被禁止的性行為與性暴力
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性暴力: 強姦: 有關的歷史記載
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國家婦女組織
美國的一個大型而有影響力的女權組織，該組織一直致力於反對對婦女的一切形式的暴力。欲參考詳情，請點擊圖示。 |
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The National Organization for Women (NOW),
a large and influential feminist group in the US, continues to oppose violence against women in all of its forms. For details, click on logo. |
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在古羅馬和其它許多古代文化裏，強姦一個女人是最嚴重的一項反對這個女人的家庭的罪行。她本人沒有同意並不是決定性的問題。正如我們在神話的舉例裏已經見到的一樣，綁架和強姦常常關聯在一起，並且把這個女人從她的家裏綁走是犯罪中最為嚴重的情節。這名罪犯可能被判處死刑，不過也可能給這個女人的父親和丈夫賠償一筆錢。強姦處女曾經是嚴重的犯罪。從法律的界定來看，不可能有強姦妻子、妓女和奴隸的。她們沒有拒絕性求歡的權利。
美國內戰之後，廢除奴隸制之前（1861-1865），南方各州仍然保留了舊法律體系。因而，女黑奴仍就任憑白人主人隨意的性宣洩，並且，任何的反抗都無濟於事。但是，強姦白人婦女的男黑奴常常未經公正的法庭審判就會被處死。然而，因強姦黑女人受到控告的男人根本就罕有被起訴的。長久以來，美國執行強姦的法律一直嚴重失衡：整個20世紀裏，在美國因強姦被處死的男人中，有90%是黑人。
然而，這還不是唯一不公平的方面。執行（懲罰）強姦的法律還有另一個嚴重的缺陷：法官和陪審團過去習慣於用懷疑的態度對待強姦指控，因而他們始終就不是公平的。時常的情形是，在法庭上，法官和陪審團並不相信女受害人，而且事實上，他們會駁斥她們。他們質疑女受害人的人品和性道德，而且會當庭細查每一個私人生活的細節。簡而言之，強姦的受害人處於被這個法律系統第二次傷害的危險之中。
1960年代，也正是這個時候，一個重新鼓舞人心的專門針對這些法律問題的婦女運動風起雲湧，於是，就取得了顯著的進步。例如，在1970年代早期，國家婦女組織（the
National Organization for Women, NOW）在美國發起了一場運動，把強姦重新定義為暴力犯罪，並且在全美建立起性攻擊危機處理中心（Rape
Crisis Center），在這些中心裏，性攻擊的受害人能夠得到幫助、支持和建議。此外，在美國以及其它許多國家，強姦配偶和強姦妓女也成了犯罪行為。
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Prohibited Sexual Behavior and Sexual Violence |
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Sexual Violence: Rape: Historical Notes 2 |
In ancient Rome and many other ancient cultures, raping a woman was, above all, a crime against her family. Her lack of consent was not the decisive issue. As we have seen in the mythological examples, abduction and rape often went together, and taking the woman away from her family was the most serious aspect of the crime. The offense could be punished by death, but it could also consist in a fine payable to the woman’s father or husband. Raping a virgin was an especially serious crime. Wives, prostitutes and slaves could, by legal definition, not be raped. They had no right to resist sexual advances.
Before slavery was abolished in the US after the American Civil War (1861-65), the Southern states had kept their old laws. Thus, black female slaves remained sexually accessible to their white masters, and any resistance was futile. However, black men who raped white women were executed, often without an impartial trial. White men accused of raping black women were rarely
prosecuted at all. For a very long time, the enforcement of American rape laws remained seriously imbalanced: Throughout the 20th century, 90% of the men executed for rape in the US were black.
This was not the only injustice, however. The enforcement of rape laws had another serious flaw: Judges and jurors were used to treat rape accusations with suspicion and thus were not always impartial. All too often, women victims were not believed and were, in fact, attacked in court. Their character and their sexual morality were called into question, and every detail of their private lives was publicly scrutinized. In short, the victims of rape were in danger of being victimized a second time by the legal system.
When, in the 1960s, a newly invigorated women’s movement began to address these issues, some notable progress was made. In the early 1970s, for example, the National Organization for Women (NOW) began a campaign in the US to redefine
rape as a crime of violence and to set up
Rape Crisis Centers around the country, where victims of sexual assault can find help, support, and advice. Moreover, in the US and many other countries,
the rape of a spouse and that of a prostitute also became crimes. |
