Rape definition expanded to include male victims FBI

Vice President Joe Biden hosts a Cabinet meeting to discuss the latest efforts to cut waste, fraud, and abuse as part of the administration's campaign to cut waste, Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2011, in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House campus in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) less Vice President Joe Biden hosts a Cabinet meeting to discuss the latest efforts to cut waste, fraud, and abuse as part of the administration's campaign to cut waste, Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2011, in the Eisenhower ... more Photo: Manuel Balce Ceneta, Associated Press Photo: Manuel Balce Ceneta, Associated Press Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Rape definition expanded to include male victims 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Washington --

The Obama administration on Friday expanded the FBI's more than eight-decade-old definition of rape to count men as victims for the first time and to drop the requirement that victims must have physically resisted their attackers.

The new definition will increase the number of people counted as rape victims in FBI statistics, but it will not change federal or state laws or alter charges or prosecutions.

The issue received top-level White House attention starting in July, when Vice President Joe Biden raised it at a Cabinet meeting.

Biden, author of the Violence Against Women Act when he was in the Senate, said the new definition is a victory for women and men. "We can't solve it unless we know the full extent of it," the vice president said.

Since 1929, the FBI has defined rape as the carnal knowledge of a female, forcibly and against her will. The revised definition covers any gender of victim or attacker and includes instances in which the victim is incapable of giving consent because of the influence of drugs or alcohol or because of age. Physical resistance is not required. The Justice Department said the new definition mirrors the majority of state rape statutes now on the books.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said all rape victims "should have access to the comprehensive services that will help them rebuild their lives."

In November, Leahy introduced legislation to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act and provide an increased emphasis on efforts to stop sexual assault.

"We've always had a broad definition of who is eligible for services, and the change could result in additional resources being made available for survivors of rape," said Linda McFarlane, deputy executive director of Just Detention International. The nonprofit human rights organization works to eliminate sexual abuse in prisons and other detention settings.

Congress approved $592 million this year to address violence against women, including sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking, under the Violence Against Women Act and Family Violence Prevention and Services Act. The Obama administration had sought $777 million to combat violence against women.

Using the old definition, a total of 84,767 rapes were reported nationwide in 2010, according to the FBI's uniform crime report based on data from 18,000 law enforcement agencies.

Nearly 1 in 5 women and 1 in 71 men in the United States have been raped at some time in their lives, according to a 2010 survey by the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control.