Rape has long been considered one of the worst crimes, but for centuries it has been handled without much care for the victim. In the past it was thought that it was more a damage against the man, the husband or the father, than something against the woman. In the past, some rapists were punished severely while others were not. This typically depended largely on the social status of both the victim and the perpetrator (Karmen, 2010). For example, in Biblical times, a man could be sentenced to death for raping a virgin, but a married woman who was raped could be sentenced to death for instigating the rape. In the Middle Ages, a man could kidnap a young woman from a wealthy family to force her to marry him and thus give him better status, and during the period of feudalism, only the rape of a noble woman was a crime (Karmen).In more recent years However, things have begun to change. In the 1970s, the feminist movement began to draw attention to the plight of raped women (Karmen, 2010). As the victim's plight was discovered, laws began to be put in place to help convict the perpetrator and defend the victim. Today, rape is still a crime punishable by death in some countries, and is even despised by other inmates within prison walls (Macdonald, 1975). the years. The word rape comes from the Latin rapere which means "to take by force". One of the first English common law definitions described rape as the unlawful carnal knowledge of a woman (Karmen, 2010). Another common definition, and the one used by the FBI for the Uniform Crime Report, is that rape is the carnal knowledge of a woman by force and without consent (M...... middle of paper... ...( 1991). Counseling Victims of Violence. Alexandria, Virginia: American Association for Counseling and Development. Burgess, A. W., & Holmstrom, L. L. (1974). (1997). and recovery New York, NY: Garland Publishing, Inc. Hursch, C.J. (). The problem of rape. Chicago, IL: Nelson-Hall, Inc. Karmen, A. (2010). Victims of crime: an introduction to victimology: Criminals and their victims. Springfield, IL: Charles C Thomas.