The Evolution of Rape to Sexual Assault Legislation Essay

The Evolution of Rape to Sexual Assault Legislation - Essay Example The essay "The Evolution of Rape to Sexual Assault Legislation" talks about the significant changes in the Canada legislation regarding rape and sexual assault. Rape is indisputably an offense like no other, a violation not only of the self but of the body as well. Until the year 1983, when rape was codified as an offense within the criminal code, rape was still a mere common law offense in Canada. Put together, rape laws prior to 1983 incorporated deep-rooted sexism, with a deliberate mistrust of women and statistics strongly indicating absolute incapacity of the Canadian Criminal law system as contributing to this. Rape victims’ words alone were not sufficient to convict assailants unless they provided substantive evidence to support the claims. This was despite the fact that rape occurs to women each 17 minutes in Canada. This resulted in anger among majority women, a factor argued to become the bedrock that spearheaded the need for legal reforms. With various forces advocating for change, rape, which seemingly was an antiquated term, was now folded, alongside indecent assault into a new offense/crime known as sexual assault. This took in everything from unwelcome touching to any kind of penetration. Criminal justice experts and women groups have often demanded new legislation as a way of dealing with this particular problem. One of the consequences of the sexual assault legislation in Canada can be argued based on the fact that it has encouraged the various victims of rape to report rape incidents to the authorities.