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Gov't Uses Archaic Definition of Rape

PROBLEM

Thousands of assaults go unreported.

cheats/2011/09/28/gov-t-uses-archaic-definition-of-rape/slut-walk-pa-cheat_dw3hfd
Joseph Kaczmarek / AP Photo

Thanks to the federal government’s definition of rape, written 80 years ago, the prevalence of the crime may be underestimated. Hundreds of sexual assaults reported in cities like Chicago and New York each year are not classified as rape because of the narrow—and vague—scope of the current definition, which is...

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