Joan McGregor
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Joan McGregor, an associate professor of philosophy and life sciences at ASU, tackles this question in her new book, “Is It Rape? On Acquaintance Rape and Taking Women’s Consent Seriously.” McGregor, who is the Lincoln Associate Professor of Bioethics and director of the Bioethics, Policy and Law Program in the School of Life Sciences, has long been interested in issues of consent and coercion. Her book offers a comprehensive look at consent in sexual situations, starting with the history of rape law, then exploring current legal approaches and a broad range of theories about what constitutes consent. McGregor focuses primarily on nonviolent, nonconsensual sex between acquaintances—“ date rape.” The legal system often fails to define such cases as rape, despite the victim’s lack of consent. “I hope that my book will raise awareness of the omissions of the law and the criminal justice system,” says McGregor. “Additionally, I would like to see more discussions about protection of sexual autonomy.” McGregor argues in favor of expanding the definition of rape to include all nonconsensual sex. “There’s still this notion that women ‘ask for it’ by going to bars, dressing sexy or going to a man’s apartment,” says McGregor. “If you drive your car into a bad neighborhood and it gets stolen, it may be a stupid thing to do, but you’re still a victim.
The summary above was taken from an informational poster which is a PDF file.
Following are Sites to find Further etailed Information:
Arizona University Site for Joan McGregor
Article written by Joan McGregor titled "Justice will be done."
