Date rape and consent - Mark Cowling

How much rape occurs in Britain? Judging from convictions in court, there are some 400-450 cases each year. Using figures from British and US surveys one might expect anything up to 270,000 cases of rape and attempted rape each year. In this book Mark Cowling attempts to make sense of this massive discrepancy, much of which is now based on how 'date rape' is understood. After a review of the way rape is dealt with in Britain he examines the survey evidence. One major issue he identifies is that of the boundary between rape and normal sex. Arguing this cannot be sharply defined he uses philosophical techniques to look at the issues involved, particularly those of communicative sexuality and of the imbalance of power between men and women. The implications for philosophy, the law and psychological research are considered.