when gender blinds us to sex

Then you'd be wrong.

No, I really think the legal parameters need to change

if a person feels violated sexually then surely that must be rape.

You really need to research what rape is, in legal terms.

Smileless2012

Rape cases are notoriously difficult to result in convictions as it is. Broadening what constitutes rape over and above what the law currently defines it as would in all probability make it even more difficult.

Intent for example; was the intention to rape or sexually assault.

I actually disagree with this. I think the way the law currently describes rape makes it purely an offense of men against women. I think extending the definition would further the reality that rape is nothing to do with sex but is a demonstration of power and that power can be anyone dominating another person by penetrating their body with anything, a body part or an implement

Hmm, not sure about that one because I also think that if a man inserts something else other than his penis then that is rape too and what the woman would feel is the same so the punishment should be the same.

Yet if rape were categorised solely as something that could result in pregnancy (as an example) then a woman could be guilty of that too.

I don't know and must admit it's not something I've really ever wanted to think about but if a person feels violated sexually then surely that must be rape.

The law changing wouldn’t alter biology no matter how it was phrased.
I agree about questioning.
If we didn’t question why some people are determined to allow males even those who have raped women or who claim they are women into female spaces, this would continue to happen unprevented. As it is, people questioning the appropriateness of behaviour like that is beginning to make a difference.

Rape cases are notoriously difficult to result in convictions as it is. Broadening what constitutes rape over and above what the law currently defines it as would in all probability make it even more difficult.

Intent for example; was the intention to rape or sexually assault.

If no one ever questioned anything, nothing would ever change

But that's what the law as it stands does say.

Laws can and do change so its not set in stone forever

Whether or not we believe it makes sense, the legal definition of rape means that it's not something a woman can do.

It doesn't make sense to me to say women aren't capable of rape, they are capable of physical abuse and when it comes to emotional abuse, it has been speculated that actually women are worse than men.

I think that for crime stats to be properly reported then it is important.

No worries Rosie Mr. S. was rather surprised though.

I’m aware that women sexually abuse children. The last research I read confirmed, it’s more likely for this to happen alongside a male perpetrator.
Three women a week are murdered by men, mostly be men they are or have been in a relationship with.
Women are much more at risk of violence, including sexual violence from men, than men are from women.
The trans issues are highly significant to this

Threads meander, no problem with that but, Summerlove, perhaps a new OP of female sex offenders is something you’d like to start.

Has it actually happened? Do women say they are men so that they can rape other women in the same way as some men claim they are women so they can get away with raping them?

No they don't because, at the very least, women would have to go through a time-consuming procedure to get an artificial penis.
There are not millions of women walking around with that potential weapon readily available to them, as there are men.
There are also not large numbers of women carrying out sexual assaults, going by official statistics, so it's unlikely that rape would become a common crime by females even if all females were issued with an artificial penis tomorrow.

I do not equate a man feeling forced into sex in a relationship with the forceable rape of a woman

Why not?

Are men not able to say no as a woman is?

What about When a man rapes a woman in a relationship? Is that different than when a woman is forcibly raped by a stranger?

American link or not, rape is rape. Or at least it should be.

You’ll notice I did say at the beginning that my comment wasn’t aside from the original discussion and therefore had nothing to do with prison sentences. Or to do with trans men/trans women.

The legal definition of rape should be updated.

FarNorth

Rape is defined as being done with a penis.
Only men/males can do that.

Then the legal definition of rape is wrong. But I suppose that’s another issue altogether.

Women are capable of sexually violating men.

Smileless2012

Shhhhh Chewbacca that was supposed to be our secret

I've just reread your reply Smileless Of course I should have said "the artificially constructed penis" instead of using "your". Sorry to have let the cat out of the bag

Shhhhh Chewbacca that was supposed to be our secret

I'm still falling about laughing at Smileless and her artificially constructed penis! You kept that quiet Smileless!

I think it should be reported as rape by a transman Mollygo as that would be the correct definition of the crime and as many of us keep saying, use of language and the definition of terms is extremely important.

As you correctly point out issues are then raised as to where, if this were to happen the perpetrator would be imprisoned.

I don’t know about that one Smileless2012. Should it then be recorded as rape by a transman, which would mean that those 436 rapes could have been recorded as by transwomen and if a transwoman commits rape, incarceration with females would be aiding and abetting further rapes.
Has it actually happened? Do women say they are men so that they can rape other women in the same way as some men claim they are women so they can get away with raping them?
If so does it make the 436 TW rapes any less serious?

Smileless2012

I agree Rosie just to clarify I don't have an artificially constructed penis but it is an interesting point and shows the complexity of the issue under discussion.

It doesn't have to happen in great numbers does it, if it happened just once, how would the law as it stands deal with it?

Absolutely no idea, and I hope we never have to find out. Maybe I'm naive but I err towards thinking a transman who had gone through such a gruelling procedure wouldn't be the type of person to rape, but that's probably wishful thinking.

The biological sex of offenders needs to be recorded. For example, Women are convicted of shoplifting, not paying tv licences in greater numbers than men are. These are crimes of poverty, compounded often by substance addiction. Women in prison disproportionally have histories of abuse in childhood and adult life. They have m.h problems. We don’t know where trans women are represented in offending behaviour. We need to if alternatives to custody can be expanded.

We imprison far too many people in the UK. The development of alternatives to custody is one step forward two back. The government seems determined to build more prisons rather than plan policy based on research. Early years funding slashed despite the evidence countries that invest in early years have better outcomes across the board. These issues must be relevant to the trans community.

I agree Rosie just to clarify I don't have an artificially constructed penis but it is an interesting point and shows the complexity of the issue under discussion.

It doesn't have to happen in great numbers does it, if it happened just once, how would the law as it stands deal with it?