Punishment for Rape

Question

What does Torah say about rape, both for the victim and the ones around the victims? What judgements should you put against the rapist?

Answer

This depends in what regard you are referring to rape.

Biblically the Torah states that it is a sin and forbidden to rape a woman. The biblical judgement is for the rapist to marry the victim! I know that sounds crazy and it is up to the woman’s discretion, the man has no choice, but she could say no (understandably). If you look at it in context, in ancient times a raped woman was looked upon as “damaged goods” and very likely would never find a husband. In ancient society this would be devastating as the men were the main source of sustenance and protection for a woman. This is connected to the fact that women didn’t have much standing in the society in the world at that time. This judgement was proscribed in order to “protect” the rights of the woman and insure she was cared for and respected in society not casted out. In addition there was a monetary fine and possibly public lashes while stripped down to a loin cloth.

If you are referring to modern society the Jewish view is that it is reprehensible and should be prosecuted and turned over to the proper authorities in order to protect other women from the rapist. There is no rabbinical power to enforce laws in the US or Israel regarding violent crimes. So we are forced to let law enforcement deal with it as they deem fit, so long as it is a just government.

Follow-up questions (2)

Question

I find the biblical punishment for the rapist to marry the victim quite bizarre .I mean what if the women loves somebody else or what if she doesn’t want to spend the rest of her life with a rapist ? As answered in one of the questions it was written that as we don’t have a rabbinic power to enforce punishment for violent crimes so we have to send them to proper authorities. But, as we’re taught, that the Torah law is timeless so will this law regarding rapist marrying the victim be applied in future? As it was written that women in those days had very little rights and they were viewed as “damaged goods” if raped….how could people in those days be so narrow minded when the presence of G-D was with them all the time through prophesies and the Temple ??

Answer

One approach to understanding what the Torah is trying to accomplish with the punishment of rape is role reversal. In general it is the man who chooses a wife. And according to the Torah she remains his wife solely at his discretion. If he chooses he can divorce her at will and even against her will (the rabbis took measures to give the woman more autonomy and protection …). If a man rapes a woman he loses all of these “rights” and they are transferred to the woman. He must marry her (if she wants – so now she gets to choose her husband) and he is to remain in the marriage at her discretion – only if she chooses to end the marriage with divorce, he doesn’t have that right. The role reversal is complete.

Question

Hello Rabbi, Thanks for your reply.One thing I don’t get is whether this law will be applied in future or was it for that period and those circumstances of ancient times.The other thing which disturbs me is that why was the husband given complete authority over his wife…He can divorce whenever he wants and so on…I mean isn’t this injustice done to the wife ? I believe that if this law was given by G-D then there would be no injustice to either party… And if there is injustice then the law was not given by G-D. Please tell me if I am wrong somewhere.

Answer

All the laws will apply in the future as well. There are many laws that are instituted for the protection of women’s rights. Divorce might seem slanted in the man’s favor, but in reality the Torah placed safeguards to protect the woman from a husbands frivolous whims. If a marriage is to end the man must pay the woman a very hefty sum of money to ensure her financial stability. This is pretty much regardless of fault for the end of the marriage. The woman could mistreat her husband and if he is to divorce her he still must pay (there are some extreme exceptions). If a woman could force her husband to divorce her it would be an easy way to get a windfall of cash. The Torah doesn’t forbid divorce and acknowledges its necessity, but fosters a sense of its seriousness by the financial consequences it creates. If the Torah gave the woman a way out of the marriage by divorce without financial consequences it would create matrimonial chaos. In addition even to this day (even though it is far from absolute) the man is expected to be the bread winner therefore the Torah can’t give the power to the wife to divorce her husband at will with the financial payoff since most/many women don’t have income.

The financial payoff upon divorce ensures the husband can’t frivolously divorce his wife. And at the same time ensures her financial stability. There is no injustice at all, it is a matter of practical application of marriage laws. Divorce comes with a price and the price tag along with ultimate choice are given to the one who “typically” controls the finances, the husband.

When all is said and done, the Oral Torah states that a man must give his wife a divorce if she wants it (he can’t keep her “enslaved”) and the Jewish courts are permitted to use physical force and threats to force the husband to divorce his wife if he refuses.

G-d did write the Torah and as the verse says “Mishpatei Hashem Yesharim” , “The laws of G-d are straight (perfectly just)”.