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The Confusion Caused by the Word “Rape”
Rolando DeLeon
4 November 2016
There will be pushback from many advocates because rape is in quotes. Please, stick with
me long enough to get to my point. In general, rape has a fairly clear meaning. Rape is an
intentional sexual act - an act where someone is taking the liberty from another person by force,
coercion or some other means. Rape is a penetrative sexual activity that an individual does not,
or cannot, consent to. Unfortunately, this definition of rape is somehow flawed. I’m not sure how
I came to have a flawed view of rape. I like to think that I have a solid moral standard. I uphold
social standards equal to my peers and other Americans. To figure this out I needed to find out
more, because rape is constantly in the media and everyone has an opinion. Some individuals
and even organizations will claim the events never happened and call it a false report. Where
others will be angry because there is no conviction or a lack of belief in the victim. I started to
think no one knows what rape really is. So, in order to find out more about what our government
calls rape, I decided to explore the laws of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the
Federal Government.
Luckily, I have some experience in the field of providing support for survivors and
attempting to create healthy cultures for organizations. Armed with some basic research skills
and my trusty tablet computer, I set off exploring the published rape laws for every state. I
quickly found there is no common system for numbering criminal codes or even a common
language that sets out legal definitions for rape. As a retired Military Police Officer, it was
fascinating to read through many of the laws and find the complexity of each one interesting. I
know most people don’t read penal codes for fun, so I will get down to business and give you the
key points.
While reviewing rape laws, 29 different chargeable offenses were found. For the sake of
clarity we should really refer to them as Criminal Sexual Acts instead of rape. A Sexual Act can
be defined as:
Sexual intercourse, cunnilingus, fellatio, anal intercourse, anilingus, or any other
intrusion(penetration), however slight, of any part of a person's body or of any object into the
genital or anal openings of the victim's, the defendant's, or any other person's body; emission of
semen is not required to complete the act
The act becomes criminal when it is completed against the will of an individual or
without an individual’s consent. States list the following offenses that meet some or all parts of
that definition, in no particular order:
Rape
Sexual abuse
Sexual torture
Sexual assault
Sexual battery
Sodomy

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Criminal sexual assault
Criminal sexual act
Sexual imposition
Forcible rape
Criminal sexual penetration
Felonious sexual assault
Predatory sexual assault
Gross sexual imposition
Sexual imposition
Forcible sexual act
Crimes against nature
Unlawful sexual penetration
Criminal sexual conduct
Forcible sexual intercourse
Aggravated sexual offense
Forcible sexual penetration by
object
Aggravated criminal sexual
assault
Sexual intercourse without
consent
Aggravated felonious sexual
assault
Sexual misconduct; forcible
compulsion
Involuntary deviate sexual
intercourse.
Imagine for one minute that you are a survivor of rape. One of the above sexual acts, as
explained in the definition were forced upon you. In this particular circumstance prosecuting
attorney and/or the investigating officers say to you, “You were not raped. What happened here
is what we call sexual intercourse without consent. It is a crime but it is very hard to prove, do
you want to move forward.” From a legal stand point, depending on the law that applies, they are
being accurate. In a court room the attorney must be able to prove the crime was committed,
beyond a reasonable doubt. By their own statements to the survivor, they are already inserting
doubt. As a survivor you may have lost all trust in a system where someone who is there to
protect and serve cannot say it was rape. Regardless of the fact that an individual forced
themselves into you, the police and the attorney must follow the law.
How our laws define rape is not the only problem. Our laws fail to fall in line with the
moral and constitutional value of liberty. Individual liberty is one of the strongest beliefs in our
Nation. In our failure, we do not fully address the behaviors that can create an unhealthy culture.
The acceptance of many of these behaviors allows individuals who may be a rapist walk around
in our midst. We send unclear signals as to what is acceptable between individuals.
While reviewing the law 23 crimes were found that addressed criminal sexual contact.
Some individuals may ask how sexual contact is not a sexual act, as both are sexual. In short
sexual acts have penetration and sexual contact does not. Sexual contact can be defined as:
Intentional touching, by any means or object, of the victim's, the defendant's, or any other
person's intimate parts, or the intentional touching of the clothing covering the immediate area
of the victim's, the defendant's, or any other person's intimate parts when that touching can be
reasonably construed as being for the purpose of sexual arousal, gratification or humiliation of
the victim, defendant or any other person. Intimate parts are the breast, inner thigh, groin,
buttock, anus, or genitalia of any person.
Again, these acts become criminal when they are completed against the will of an
individual or without an individual’s consent. 45 of the 50 States have some sort of law against

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sexual contact. Unfortunately, definitions are not as encompassing as what is suggested above.
Below are the 23 chargeable offenses:
Abusive sexual contact
Sexual abuse
Sexual assault
Sexual battery
Unlawful sexual contact
Aggravated sexual battery
Battery
Oral sexual battery
Criminal sexual abuse
Aggravated criminal
sexual abuse
Assault with intent to
commit sexual abuse
Unlawful sexual touching
Sexual offense, indecent
assault and battery
Criminal sexual conduct
Aggravated criminal
sexual conduct
Criminal sexual contact
Forcible touching
Aggravated sexual abuse
Predatory sexual assault
Sexual imposition
Gross sexual imposition
Indecent liberties
If you check the two lists against one another you may find that some sound the same or
are even the same. Some of the sexual contact crimes listed sound like rape, but they are not - not
as far as that states laws are concerned. The little voice inside my head replayed a memory as I
write this, “Don’t claim you were raped, it was only oral.” I have heard it before, by an
investigating officer asking a survivor why they willingly conducted an act. The officer was
confused as to the survivor being distraught, because, “At least you were not raped.”
We blur the lines of sexual acts and sexual contact every day. It is not only in our media
and entertainment it is written into our laws. The impact is that those who may act on immoral
behaviors in the subway, at a club, or the start of a 5k, are free to act without concern. We
actually teach each other this is ok. I have heard “Yeah, he put his hands down my pants while I
was laying there, but that is what boys do. I just rolled over and ignored it.” The “he” in this
story went to the next girl and did more, a mere 15ft from the first. By better defining these
crimes we provide clarity for everyone, peers, survivors, first responders, and the potential
perpetrators. We will help to remove the space where the offenders operate.
The people who I help and those I educate led me down this road and the hours of
research. We need a unified definition of rape. It is not enough that states report to the FBI on the
types of crimes that were committed, we must have a change of the national definition. The laws
must line up with our national morality. Every belief system and political standard could get
behind a simple reform to define what Rape and Criminal Sexual Contact are. This is a small
step to make a huge change in our culture.

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