What is rape?

'What happened to me?'

The term 'rape' comes under the general heading of abuse. "Child sexual abuse is the involvement of dependent, developmentally immature children and adolescents in sexual activities with any person older or bigger, which they do not fully comprehend, and to which they are unable to give an informed consent."

What then is rape? The Oxford Dictionary defines rape as: "Act of forcing a woman or girl to have sexual intercourse against her will."

The Crimes (Sexual Offences) Act, 1991 introduced new definitions in relation to "rape" and "sexual penetration", and the provisions regarding rape were further amended by the Crimes (Rape) Act 1991. By virtue of Section 38 (2) a person commits rape if; "He or she intentionally sexually penetrates another without that other person's consent"

Sexual Penetration is defined as:

a) The introduction (to any extent) by a person of his penis into the vagina, anus or mouth of another person whether or not there is emission of semen; or

b) The introduction (to any extent) by a person of an object or a part of his or her body (other than the penis) into the vagina or anus of another person other than in the course of a procedure carried out in good faith for medical or hygienic purposes.

Patrick Parkinson. 1996. Child Sexual Abuse and the Churches, London: Hodder & Stoughton, p.9

The Australian Oxford Dictionary, Fourth Edition, Oxford University Press, 1997, p. 893

Vagina includes-

a) The external genitalia; and

b) A surgically constructed vagina.

Meaning of Consent-

Consent means free agreement. There are many circumstances in which a person does not freely agree to the act. For our purposes in speaking about childhood rape I will include the following: 

a) The person submits because of force or fear of force to that person or someone else.

b) The person is incapable of understanding the sexual nature of the act.

Age of sexual penetration-

a) Rape: of any person of any age -absolute prohibition

b) Sexual Penetration: of person under 10 years -absolute prohibition

c) Sexual Penetration: of person 10-16 years -Possible defenses. Defense of consent may exist where; accused believes on reasonable grounds victim over 16 years; where the offender was not (as a fact) more than two years older than victim; may exist where accused believes on reasonable grounds that he/she was married to the victim.

Taking the above into consideration, for the purposes of this paper I will define female childhood rape as; "the sexual penetration of a child or an adolescent under the age of sixteen by a male more than two years her senior, by an object or a part of his body." (see Appendix A)