Rape Shield Laws essays

Rape Shield Laws essays Should All Evidence Be Admissible in Court? Sex plays a major role in todays society. From television, radio, music, and advertisements, to video games, the Internet, and even art and pictures, all forms of media use sex to help sell their products. With the public being exposed to so many different types, the overuse and exploitation of sex is common. Nowadays, people just have sex with anyone and often times regret their actions afterwards. This makes it difficult for law officials to separate rape victims from promiscuous women who use the court system as an object of revenge to get back at their sex partners for whatever reason. (Blumner, Rape Shield Laws Have Outlived Their Usefulness). Many states have rape shield laws set up to protect the women in court from slanderous remarks, but the law violates the defendants sixth amendment right and should be reconsidered. Rape shield laws date back to the 1970s. Because of pressure from feminist activists, lawyers, and legislators, most states enacted the rape shield law to ease the emotional burden of rape victims. Rape shield laws are present in forty-nine states with the exception of Arizona. (Rape Shield Law-What You Need to Know, pars. 1-2). The law limits the use of a victims prior sexual history as an attempt to undermine the credibility of the victims testimony. In the years following the first rape shield law, Americas culture became more educated about the crime of rape. Therefore, the need for the laws lessened. In todays society, sexual activity among unmarried women is no longer morally shocking, yet it is accepted. Juries are no longer as narrow minded on the topic of sex as before, and they are less likely to blame the victim for a rape just because she engaged in sexual activities before marriage. At some point or another, the definition of rape broadened and now includes acquaintances, best frie...