000 02097nab a22003017a 4500
999 _c7347
_d7347
005 20250625151559.0
008 211109s2021 ||||| |||| 00| 0 eng d
040 _aAFVC
100 _aHigh, Anna
_910386
245 _aSexual dignity in rape law
_cAnna High
260 _bYale,
_c2021
500 _aYale Journal of Law & Feminism, 2021, forthcoming
520 _aDignity is a famously contested concept, suggesting its deployment as a legal principle should be closely scrutinized. This Article sets out a functional and contextual analysis of dignity as an organizing principle underpinning rape law, which I term “sexual dignity”. Based on sexual violence theory, I trace the “democratization” of sexual dignity over time, as dignity and attendant rights of autonomy and equality have gradually extended from man to the (qualified) woman to women as a group, and identify an emerging contemporary feminist consensus on the meaning of sexual dignity. This framework is then applied to a critical review of how judges across common law jurisdictions understand and use dignity in decisions on rape. The caselaw of sexual dignity illustrates that dignity is a usefully capacious concept for exploring and condemning the multiplicity of rape’s harms and wrongs. However, uncritical engagement with sexual dignity can be harmful, with implications both for rape law and for the regulation of sexual behaviour generally. As such, I argue that robust and reflective engagement with sexual dignity is both necessary and productive. (Author's abstract). Record #7347
650 _aATTITUDES
_970
650 _aFEMINISM
_9256
650 _aGENDER EQUALITY
_96853
650 _aHUMAN RIGHTS
_9303
650 _aLAW
_9336
650 _aRAPE
_9488
650 4 _aSEXUAL VIOLENCE
_9531
650 _aWOMEN
_9645
651 _aINTERNATIONAL
_93624
651 4 _aNEW ZEALAND
_92588
773 0 _tYale Journal of Law & Feminism, 2021, forthcoming
830 _aYale Journal of Law & Feminism
_910387
856 _uhttp://hdl.handle.net/10523/12056 (Open access)
942 _2ddc
_cARTICLE