Encyclopedias, Dictionaries and Reference books 

on Rape and Sexual Assault.

For the topic of rape and sexual assault online Encyclopedias generally have more up to date information than paper based resources.

Groliers Online Encyclopedia

http://www.ncwiseowl.org/

To access Groliers Online Encyclopedia free of charge- just click on Encyclopedia and then text only version (pop up window) and type in search term rape.  It is the top return.  This entry is one of the best overviews for the topic of rape that I have found.  It covers recent aspects (date rape) as well as the history of rape in our society. It includes the concept that women are a legal possession of their spouse or father, information on date rape drugs such as rohypnol and ghb and the Bosnia rape trials.

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MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001955.htm

Medline is a reliable source of medical and statistical information.  "According to most estimates, 80-90% of rapes are not reported to authorities. Current trends project that 1 in 3 American women will be sexually assaulted at some point during her life. "

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http://www.bartleby.com/65/ra/rape3.html

The Columbia encyclopedia. Sixth edition, 2001-04

This entry for the definition of rape in law covers most of the current issues in sexual assault.  Some of those are date rape, proof of injury, feminism's role in improving victim resources and rape as a war crime.  Free to the public. 

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Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia

Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia Via EBSCOHost - NCLive
Retrieved from the world wide web 2-2-03:
http://eresources.lib.unc.edu/eid/list.php?letter=F

This online source is much more satisfactory than most paper based entries for rape.

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Evaluation of the Groliers and Funk & Wagnalls online Encyclopedias:

     Both Online Encyclopedias were much more thorough than the paper based counterparts.  There were two returns each for the term rape.  Subjects covered were generally the definition of rape, statutory rape, recent statistics on rape, the history of the issue, International law regarding Bosnia trials, and the previously unmentioned category of date rape and date rape drugs. 

     The primary difference between the two online encyclopedias is that Grolier's is much more comprehensive than Funk and Wagnalls.  Both carry the same tone and mention feminism and its fight to improve conditions and rights of rape victims.  Funk and Wagnall's statistics report that a rape is reported in the US every 6 minutes.  It also mentions that in court "for the crime to constitute rape, the victim must resist, unless he or she is incapable of resistance because of mental or physical weakness or deterred by fear of bodily harm."  Grolier's takes it a step further by explaining the history of rape in terms of underlying assumptions by our society.  "The origin of rape laws can be traced to the once-wide spread belief that women were the property of men.  A female was considered first the property of her father. Because her virginity was valued as her principal asset, rape was considered a theft.  Once a woman was married, she belonged to her husband.  Rape then was treated as a crime against the husband's exclusive sexual rights to her.  Because marriage gave these rights to the husband, legally, it was not possible for him to rape his own wife."  This statement points to flaws in the criminal justice system.  The author of this site's general conclusion is that rape victims and researchers can get better information from internet resources that allow modern ideas on the subject to easily be expressed and updated. 

 Paper based Encyclopedias

-New- 

Encyclopedia of Rape

Smith, M. D. (2004). Encyclopedia of Rape. USA:      Greenwood Press.

"Book Description

Rape has been perpetrated throughout history and worldwide, and today ours has been called a rape culture, because sexual violence, mainly against women and children, is prevalent and tolerated to some extent. The Encyclopedia of Rape offers 185 entries in an A-to-Z essay format covering the historical scope and magnitude of the issue in the United States and globally. Written by a host of scholars from diverse fields, it provides informed perspectives on the key dimensions of the topic, from concepts, social movements, offenders, high-profile cases, legislation, influential activists, landmark texts, and victimology to representations in literature and art. This solid, accessible ready-reference will allow students and the general reader to contextualize current events and reading and viewing in history, literature and the Bible, film, art history, gender studies, psychology, criminology, popular culture, and more. "

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Macdonals, John (1993). World Book Encyclopedia. United States of America: World Book Inc.

"94,000 rapes were reported in 1989… But officials estimate that the actual number of rapes committed may be 10 times the number reported." -W. B. Encyclopedia.
                                    

World Book goes into detail regarding the overall failure of the justice system and how that occurs.  Some examples are the fact that only 2% of rapists are convicted due to difficulty proving the attack.  In some instances proof that the victim struggled is required.  World Book includes information relating all this demand for proof with intimidation in regards to reporting rape.  It is also stated that defense attorneys try to prove the lack of the victim's morals. 

Evaluation of the paper based Encyclopedias:

Both of the Encyclopedias covered the following topics:

The definition of rape

The definition of statutory rape

The fact that most rapists are not convicted (only 2% mentioned by world book)

Explanations for why victims are intimidated into not reporting the crime.

The fact that in trials the issue becomes whether the woman consented to sex.

The psychological definition of rape as an antisocial act of power rather than sex.

The traumatic after effects suffered by the victim.

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