CONSENT could be the most misunderstood word in the English language! 

Millions of people are harmed by rape every year. And some offenders do not comprehend why or how their behavior constitutes RAPE.

Let’s get it right!

Society, including prosecutors, police, attorneys, and judges, as well as laymen, often think CONSENT = AGREEMENT. They are only half right!

CONSENT = Freely Given, Knowledgeable and Informed Agreement (FGK&IA), not simply Agreement! And if we can make this concept abundantly clear in our laws, the offenders’ crimes will become obvious!

Violence is not the only way to undermine FGK&IA!

Often, I hear victims question whether or not they were raped. They seem to think that nodding their head, even when they did so to avoid violent harm, or when they were acquainted with the offender, may not be rape.

Ivana Trump knew Donald Trump raped her when she provided sworn testimony in her divorce proceeding. But after she was awarded a $15MM settlement, she began to eat her words,  Tearing out fist-fulls of her hair and forcing himself inside her became, “I didn’t mean it in a “criminal way.” Really? Let’s apply FGK&IA to his behavior and judge whether or not Trump is a rapist!

The only defense Trump provided was not that he didn’t do it, but that it wasn’t rape since it was his wife. Somehow his attorney, Michael Cohen, who recently defended Trump’s behavior to the press, stated “It’s not rape when it’s your wife.” The marriage exception in NY State’s rape law ended long before the incident took place.

Another example….

In her recent, graphic post on Mogul, Regina G. Santella,  asks whether she was raped and describes a circumstance in which she acquiesced to sex in order to de-escalate the offender’s level of violence.

Was it rape or not?

All across the world, people make light of sexual assault on hapless victims when they’re deceived into sex because so little of society grasps FGK&IA! Whenever you want to know whether you were raped or not, simply ask yourself, “Did I provide FREELY GIVEN, KNOWLEDGEABLE & INFORMED AGREEMENT?” If you did not, get help. Report the offense to the police!

Rape is Rape no matter how it occurs! 

Violent rapes are horrific, heinous acts. But just because the rapist uses another means to undermine FGK&IA does not mean the victim was not raped. Violent rapes should carry the most severe punishment afforded by law. But all rapists should be punished, regardless of the means they use to undermine the victim’s consent.

If the state in which you were raped does not prosecute on the basis of FGK&IA,  join The FORRSC! It’s FREE! We are fighting to establish a universal understanding of rape throughout the US and around the world! You can make a critical difference!

Really- rape is simple! It’s sex without FGK&IA!