Common Law
Rape was an offence under the common law of England. That offence became an offence under the law of other countries, including Australia and the United States, as a result of colonisation or conquest, or following cession (see British Empire). It is discussed at Rape in English law#History.
Under this law rape traditionally describes the act of one party forcing another to have sexual intercourse with him or her. Common law rape required the utmost physical resistance by the victim, as well as substantial force by the defendant. The common law crime of rape was collectively adopted by the American colonies in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Until the late twentieth century, spousal rape was not considered a true rape case because the woman was traditionally viewed as the property of her husband. Hence, both spouses were deemed to have consented to a lifelong sexual relationship through the wedding vows. However, with changes to the marital rape exemption, as well as with the significant development of women's rights, the belief of a marital right to sexual intercourse has become less widely held.
Rape was also an offence at common law in Scotland. This offence was not derived from the English offence as Scotland retained its own system of criminal law under the terms of the Acts of Union 1707.
Read more about this topic: Laws Regarding Rape
Famous quotes containing the words common and/or law:
“It is to be presumed, that a man of common sense, who does not desire to please, desires nothing at all; since he must know that he cannot obtain anything without it.”
—Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl Chesterfield (1694–1773)
“Justice begins with the recognition of the necessity of sharing. The oldest law is that which regulates it, and this is still the most important law today and, as such, has remained the basic concern of all movements which have at heart the community of human activities and of human existence in general.”
—Elias Canetti (b. 1905)