During the "Death Becomes Her" challenge, Kennedy had created a look that was read by queens and judges alike, compared to "Tony the Tiger on crack", and in an attempt to justify it, came up with an elaborate back story:
In addition, the UCR program will also collect data based on the historical definition of rape, enabling law enforcement to track consistent trend data until the statistical differences between the old and new definitions are more fully understood.
This does not mean that rape has increased, but simply that it is more accurately reported. This meant that the statistics that were reported nationally were both inaccurate and undercounted.īecause the new definition is more inclusive, reported crimes of rape are likely to increase. Even though most states have more expansive definitions of rape in their criminal codes, they had to report the smaller number of crimes falling under the more narrow UCR SRS definition. Police departments submit data on reported crimes and arrests to the UCR SRS. The UCR is the national “report card” on serious crime what gets reported through the UCR is how we, collectively, view crime in this country. Physical resistance is not required on the part of the victim to demonstrate lack of consent. The ability of the victim to give consent must be determined in accordance with individual state statutes. Similarly, a victim may be legally incapable of consent because of age. This definition also includes instances in which the victim is unable to give consent because of temporary or permanent mental or physical incapacity.įurthermore, because many rapes are facilitated by drugs or alcohol, the new definition recognizes that a victim can be incapacitated and thus unable to consent because of ingestion of drugs or alcohol. It also recognizes that rape with an object can be as traumatic as penile/vaginal rape. “The penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim.”įor the first time ever, the new definition includes any gender of victim and perpetrator, not just women being raped by men. It only included forcible male penile penetration of a female vagina. “Forcible rape” had been defined by the UCR SRS as “the carnal knowledge of a female, forcibly and against her will.” That definition, unchanged since 1927, was outdated and narrow. It was because of the voices of survivors, advocates, law enforcement personnel and many others that FBI Director Robert Mueller was able to make this important change within the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report (UCR) Summary Reporting System (SRS). The change sends an important message to all victims that what happens to them matters, and to perpetrators that they will be held accountable.
In a victory for survivors of rape and their advocates, the Attorney General announced a newly revised definition of rape for nationwide data collection, ensuring that rape will be more accurately reported nationwide. Carbon, Director of the Office on Violence Against Women. The following post appears courtesy of Susan B.