Victory! Idaho Corrects Law That Permitted the Rape of Single Women

Last November, an Idaho court dismissed criminal charges against two men who were accused of raping a woman, due to the very specific and discriminatory wording in the state's rape statute.

At the time, subsection 7 of Idaho Code 18-6101 defined rape of a woman by deceit and concealment as unlawful if the she is penetrated after being tricked into believing that the perpetrator is her husband. The language of the law failed to include scenarios where rape by deceit occurred outside of marriage -- in the recent case, another man impersonated the woman's boyfriend. Thanks to one word in the law, a woman was denied the chance for justice, and must bear her injuries without fair legal recourse.

Shortly after this story broke on Change.org, thousands circulated and signed our petition urging Idaho legislators to correct this broken law, and the legislators listened.

Though it is sickening that such a case had to happen to bring about legal changes, it is heartening that such a change did occur in a relatively quick manner and without objection. On March 3rd, Idaho Governor "Butch" Otter signed Senate Bill 1014, which added more inclusive language to the rape statue.

The law goes into effect July 1st, 2011, and will make it a crime for any person to deceive a woman (married or not) into believing that he is someone else, for the purpose of forcing unwanted sexual intercourse.

Of course, while we can celebrate this one substantive victory, let us not forget or ignore the many holes and problems with the rape statutes in Idaho and across the nation.

Photo credit: theknowlesgallery