Justice, at What Cost?
As today, accusations of rape in 19th-century America inevitably, and repeatedly, met with harsh backlashes against the victims.
Changes to laws concerning sexual violence have always occurred at a glacial pace in the United States. It was not until 1993, for example, that a person could be criminalised in all 50 states for raping their spouse. Most changes have been incremental, generally at the state level, and often simply bring legislation into line with social attitudes. Large-scale changes, although rare, have always been met with swift and extreme backlash.
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