We will never get rid of ‘rape myths’ until we get to grips with the ways they influence legal reasoning and decision-making
By Joanne Conaghan and Yvette Russell. One of the reasons rape complainants give for not wanting to report sexual offences or support their prosecution, is a fear that their private sexual history will be unfairly ‘used against them’ in the courtroom. Our research shows that, despite a long history of law and policy reform in the [...]