The FBI Changing the Definition of Rape

There was a campaign recently to have the FBI change the definition of Rape. The FBI haven't changed the definition of rape since 1929 so it does seem to be time for an update. The definition was, 

The carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will. Included are rapes by force and attempts or assaults to rape. Statutory offenses (no force used- victims under age of consent) are excluded. 

An FBI panel composed of outside experts from criminal justice agencies and national security agencies voted to broaden the federal government's definition. The proposed definition is,

Penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim.

The FBI's current narrow definition of rape has also created complications for law enforcement agencies, who can't report all the rapes they prosecute for inclusion in federal statistics if their state or locality has a broader definition.

For example, in 2010, the Chicago Police Department reported nearly 1,400 sexual assaults. None of them, however, appeared in the federal crime report because they didn't fit the federal government's definition of rape.

This change doesn’t directly affect rape arrests, charges, or convictions–this is about records and reporting. But this can help keep the number of reported rates more closely in line with the number of actual rapes, meaning that federal resources can be directed to prosecution ofactual rapes.