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- Title
GENDER NEUTRALITY AND THE DEFINITION OF RAPE: CHALLENGING THE LAW'S RESPONSE TO SEXUAL VIOLENCE AND NON-NORMATIVE BODIES.
- Authors
MCDONALD, ELISABETH
- Abstract
In 2005 the legislature of Aotearoa New Zealand chose for the second time, the first occurring in 1986, to retain the offence of rape as one of the ways in which the crime of sexual violation may be committed. The current definition of rape means that only those with a penis can be guilty of this offence, and only those with female genitalia can be a victim of such a crime. Despite use of the term in public vernacular being wider than the legal definition, little advocacy has been focussed on reforming this law, although those in the trans and intersex communities recognise their experiences are not reflected in the description of rape. In this piece I note the importance, and difficulty, of making visible within the legislative framework both the gendered nature of sexual offending as well as the vulnerabilities of those who have non-normative bodies. By considering the theory and critical analysis which informed the debates and law reform undertaken in other jurisdictions, I conclude that it is time to reconsider the actus reus of rape in Aotearoa New Zealand, with the aim of extending its scope so as to be responsive to all communities' experiences of sexual violence.
- Subjects
NEW Zealand; RAPE laws; FEMALE reproductive organs
- Publication
University of Western Australia Law Review, 2019, Vol 45, Issue 2, p166
- ISSN
0042-0328
- Publication type
Article