esistance signifies that the woman truly did not want to engage in sex.After looking at the history of rape law, it is evident that changes must be made. In recent years, some of the strict requirements have been relaxed. For example, corroboration is usually not required, most states now have statutes in place that protect a woman from being required to expose her sexual past, and many states that had previously imposed a time limit for complaints no longer do so. Some courts have now concluded that, in some situations, a man can be charged with raping his wife. In some jurisdictions, the definition of rape was changed to sexual intercourse where the man, compels her to submit by force or threat of imminent death, serious bodily injury, extreme pain or kidnapping, to be inflicted on anyone.(Estrich 59) Thus, the focus was changed from the inadequacies of the woman to the wrongdoings of the defendant. However, in the new terminology, submission by force is quite ambiguous. In the end, forcible compulsion is defined, yet again, in terms of a womans resistance. In the eyes of the court, verbal nonconsent is not adequate.While courts no longer require a female to resist to the utmost or to resist where resistance would be foolhardy, they do requite that her acquiescence in the in the act of intercourse to stem from fear generated by something of substance. She may no simply say, I was really scared, and thereby transform consent or mere unwillingness into submission by force. These words do not transform a seducer into a rapist. She must follow the natural instinct of every proud female to resist, by more than mere words, the violation of her person by a stranger or an unwelcome friend. She must make it plain that she regards such sexual acts as abhorrent and repugnant to her natural sense of pride. She must resist unless the defendant has objectively manifested his intent to use physical force to accomplish his purpose. (Est...
