The new wording drew immediate praise from Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and from advocates for women.
BY JERRY MARKON | THE WASHINGTON POST
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration on Friday announced a significant expansion of the FBI’s definition of rape, which will now cover several forms of sexual assault and include male rape.
Justice Department officials said that the revision would make reporting of the crime more accurate and provide a better understanding of its effects on victims.
Since 1929, rape has been defined as “the carnal knowledge of a female, forcibly and against her will.” That definition, which included only men having sex with women without their consent, excluded other forms of sexual assault, such as oral penetration and rape of men.
The new wording, announced by Attorney General Eric Holder, covers those and several other forms of sexual assault. It will be used in the FBI’s annual Uniform Crime Report, which draws on data submitted by local police departments, and probably will prompt a rise in reported rapes nationwide, law enforcement officials said.
Although most state rape statutes already contain a broader definition of the crime, officials said the federal revision holds deep significance, because the FBI’s reports are often synonymous in the public mind with crime rates. The FBI data are also used by policymakers to analyze crime and propose anti-crime initiatives.
“This send a powerful message that … rape is rape,” Susan Carbon, director of the Justice Department’s Office on Violence Against Women, said in a conference call with reporters. “And it’s rape even if you’re a man. It’s rape even if you are raped with an object and even if you were too drunk to consent.”
Administration officials said that the change, which will take several years to fully implement, was driven primarily by Vice President Biden, author of the Violence Against Women Act when he was in the Senate, and the White House Council on Women and Girls.
Valerie Jarrett, a senior adviser to President Obama and the council’s chair, said the revised definition is “a major policy change that will lead to more accurate reporting and a far more complete understanding of this devastating crime.”
An FBI police advisory board recently recommended the change, which had been pushed by supporters of women’s rights. FBI Director Robert Mueller signed off on it last month.
In 2010, an estimated 84,767 rapes under the FBI’s current definition were reported nationwide. Officials could not specify how much they expect the reporting of rapes to increase.
The new wording drew immediate praise from Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and from advocates for women.