Legal Rights of Victims against Perpetrators
The legal rights of victims of rape against their perpetrators are contained in the Constitution of the United States and other associated laws. The federal and state governments in the United States have been able to pass laws to establish a set of legal rights to which rape victims are entitled against their perpetrators. Thee rights include the entitlement of victims to have sufficient information about the perpetrators of the crimes, protection against the perpetrators, and participation in the process of criminal justice (Conaghan, 2015). The rights of victims are largely dependent on the laws formulated by the jurisdiction within which the offense occurs.
Current Research and Prevalence of these Types of Crimes
The current research has established that crimes of rape in a drunken rage area have a higher rate of prevalence among young people in colleges and tertiary levels of education. Essentially, alcohol-related cases of rape and forms of sexual assault are common occurrences in college campuses. Studies have presently pointed out that the influence of alcohol is a major contributor to the happening of these nature of crimes (Engel, 2014). Besides, it has been established that females are the most victims of crimes associated with rape in a drunken rage whereas most perpetrators the offenses are males.
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Options available to the victim in the Civil Court
Several options are available in the civil court to the victim of rape by her ex-boyfriend in a drunken rage. In this respect, the civil court system will be focused on attempting to establish whether the ex-boyfriend is liable to the damage experienced by the victim following the occurrence of the incident (Wheatcroft, Wagstaff & Moran, 2017). The other option is that the finding of a liability by the civil court usually implies that the defendant is expected to make a monetary form of compensation to the victim of rape or his or her family.
How Victim Advocacy Programs Work
Advocacy programs for victims of rape incidences usually work in different ways depending on the jurisdiction within which they are involved. One of such ways entails the provision of trauma-informed, confidential, and free or affordable advocacy to all the victims of rape with any form of discrimination (Conaghan, 2015). Besides, a victim advocacy program would involve the formulation of guidelines and ways that can be applicable in facilitating prevention education and the promotion of social change. In this way, the advocacy program focuses on reducing the prevalence rate of crimes of rape by a significant margin.
Civil Litigations for providing redress to Victims
Civil litigations involved in the provision of redress to victims of rape often form a critical component in ensuring that justice is served. Because victims of rape usually go through extremely painful experiences sometimes coupled with permanent injuries caused by the perpetrators of such crimes, civil litigation is crucial in ensuring the provision of sufficient relief (Engel, 2014). In most jurisdictions, civil litigations and other ways of providing redress for rape victims are commonly regarded as additional tools used in advocacy and creating awareness to the members of the public.
Positive and Negative effects of Civil Litigation on the lives of the victim
Civil litigation can be associated with both negative and positive effects on the life of victims depending on the direction that it eventually follows. One of the positive effects is that the victim may end up being compensated to the damages suffered which would a significant step in the direction of recovery (Anderson, 2015). On the other hand, the lives of the victim may end up being negatively impacted in the sense that the perpetrators of their crime may attack them after being set free owing to a compensation payment.
Definition and explanation of the Crime committed
The type of crime committed is rape which can be defined as forced sexual activity accompanied by threats and injuries to the victim caused by the penetrator. Other instances of sexual activity that can be regarded as rape include deception, unconsciousness, intoxication, and mental deficiency among others (Conaghan, 2015). In this scenario, rape was committed against a twenty-year-old girl by her ex-boyfriend in a drunken rage. There is a higher probability that the victim may have been under the influence of alcohol at the time of the forced sexual activity by the ex-boyfriend.
Need for creating a Constitutional amendment assuring a certain level of Victims' Rights
There is an urgent need for the creation of amendments in the constitution to ensure all courts stay committed to ensuring that victims are accorded a significant level of rights and entitlements that will address the plights (Wheatcroft, Wagstaff & Moran, 2009). It is also important to develop a consensus around specific that is required in securing a meaningful focus on the concerns and challenges faced by victims of rape in the criminal justice system.
Violation of the Rights of the Victim
In this scenario, it is clear that the rights of the victim were considerably violated by being forced to engage in sexual activity without her consent and against her wish. Besides, the victim was forced to engage in sexual activities with her ex-boyfriend in a situation that is described as a drunken rage. To that extent, the rights of the victim which involve only engaging in consensual sexual activity when she is sober were violated (Engel, 2014).
Some Rights that could be guaranteed to the Victim in this Case
In this case, some of the rights that could be guaranteed to the victim include the right to receiving urgent medical attention to address any physical injuries that may have been sustained during the rape incident. The other right involves entitlement to receive counseling services to cater to emotional and psychological torture occasioned by undergoing the rape experience (Anderson, 2015). The victim is also entitled to receive the services of a prosecutor or an advocate to prosecute her case in court effectively.
How Rights of the Victim would affect or conflict with the Rights of Offenders in the System
In thinking about the rights of the victim, it is important to appreciate that the accused as offender may also be required to be protected by the right contained in the constitution. However, there may be conflicts between the rights of the victims of rape and the perpetrators. For instance, a penetrator has a right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty through solid evidence (Conaghan, 2015). On the other hand, the victim has a right to have the perpetrator of his crime served with a jail term without unnecessary delays. The victim is also expected to provide strong evidence that will link her ex-boyfriend with the rape incident before any convictions can be made against the perpetrator.
Psychological and Financial Impacts for Victims in this type of situation
Several financial and psychological impacts may be caused to the victim of rape in this situation. One of the psychological impacts includes the facts that the victim may suffer from a significant reduction of her self-esteem and lowered confidence level. The victim may also be impacted negatively in terms of expenses incurred while seeking treatment, or in seeking legal assistance (Anderson, 2015).
References
Anderson, M. (2015). Diminishing the Legal Impact of Negative Social Attitudes toward Acquaintance Rape Victims. SSRN Electronic Journal , 9 (6), 342-348. doi: 10.2139/ssrn.1741125
Conaghan, J. (2015). Extending the Reach of Human Rights to Encompass Victims of Rape: M.C. V. Bulgaria. Feminist Legal Studies , 13 (1), 145-157. doi: 10.1007/s10691-005 1462-5
Engel, F. (2014). The privacy rights of rape victims in the media and the law: Perspectives on disclosing rape victims’ names. Political Communication , 11 (3), 312-312. doi: 10.1080/10584609.1994.9963037
Wheatcroft, J., Wagstaff, G., & Moran, A. (2017). Revictimizing the Victim? How Rape Victims Experience the US Legal System. Victims & Offenders , 4 (3), 265-284. doi: 10.1080/15564880903048529
