141st APHA Annual Meeting

In This section

289203
Second rape of rape victims: The relationship between global rape laws, unreported rape cases and women's rights

Tuesday, November 5, 2013 : 11:30 AM - 11:50 AM

Olufunke Adesuwa Akiyode, CAGS, MHSA, MBA , Shout Global Health, SHOUT - GLOBAL HEALTH, Largo, MD
Rape is the unlawful sexual assault against another person resulting in sexual intercourse without the person's consent. It is simply forced sexual intercourse. Many rape incidents go unreported. For example, 60% of rape cases in the United States is unreported. (RAINN, 2012). 1 in 10 women has been raped and a third subjected to sexual violence. In a survey reported by the human rights watch, 25% of young men in South Africa admitted to have had sex with a woman without her consent. The paper explores the link between unreported rape cases and sexual laws. For example, some rape laws require the presence of four witnesses for a crime to be considered as rape. In many laws, the punishment for rape crime is considered as being too harsh or too lenient, leading to low rate of convictions of rape perpetrators. The paper also relates rape policy issues to women's reproductive health and rights. It concludes by proffering solutions to improve global rape policies, encourage reporting of rape cases in order to improve women's health and rights.

Learning Areas:
Advocacy for health and health education
Public health or related laws, regulations, standards, or guidelines
Public health or related public policy
Public health or related research

Learning Objectives:
Analyze the link between global rape policies, unreported rape cases and women's health and rights.

Keywords: Women's Health, Reproductive Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have the professional and academic experience and expertise in the areas of public health and human rights.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.