February 28, a SARA discussion group was held in William Smith Hall on "The History of Rape." The discussion was fruitful, according to SARA president Sandy DeCarlo, but somewhat underattended.
"I'm glad we are talking about it, but I wish more people would come out and talk about the issues," she said.
The discussion was led by DeCarlo, who chose the topic to present. Each member of SARA is leading a discussion in the series. DeCarlo said she chose the history of rape as a topic because, "I've always been interested in how rape was dealt with in the middle ages."
Said DeCarlo, "The audience was appalled ... We talked about why the rape laws came into effect and why male rape laws aren't taken as seriously."
According to the group minutes, compiled by freshman Rob Ranneberger, the discussion began with the early 1800's, when forced intercourse within a marriage was not frowned on because wives were considered property.
In England and early colonies, more emphasis was put on ensuring men were not caught, rather than protecting women from rape. However, most convicted rapists were executed.
After examining historical punishments for rape, the conversation moved to recent history in the United States. In the 1960's, the women's movement harshly criticized rape laws and brought the focus to a need for protection of women.
Since that time, laws have gotten stricter and penalties have become more harsh for convicted rapists. In 1997, Montana passed a controversial law giving rapists the death penalty if they are found guilty of a second offense.
The discussion then moved on to the relative infrequency of rape convictions of women assaulting men. DeCarlo said, "A lot of the reason is we don't see it very often because men don't talk about it, but that would make it even more important, I think."
The minutes reflected the group's observation that, "Interestingly, it is very difficult for women to be convicted of rape, even though many cases of females assaulting males exist."
The group agreed that rape laws can still be improved, and that governments must strive to do this.
About the discussion series, DeCarlo noted, "It's open to the campus because these are issues the campus should know about."
She went on to say, "Rape usually is an issue most people don't talk about, but unfortunately it is an issue that affects most people in some way, whether it is a family member or a friend."
DeCarlo added, "I wish more people would come out and talk about the issues."
The topic of the next discussion group will be Gang Rape and will take place March 21.
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