Exactly — and I think that’s why the term “prosecutrix” was invented by the English judicial system way back in the mid-eighteenth century. They needed a term for a woman who brought a rape case. The cause of action for rape had always lain with either a husband or father, who both sued for money damages for the property lost to the rape: the wife’s chastity or the daughter’s virginity. Rape was often treated as a civil cause of action.

I’ve always been fascinated by the interaction of cultural norms and law. We tend to think laws are objective, fair, and just, but they are created by us, fallible human beings with biases.