Babylonia's Economic Status Of Women

woman was raped, compensation was paid to the woman’s father or husband, the amount depending on the woman’s economic situation and other factors, rape being considered a crime of theft . This was evident in the first written law prohibiting rape: the ancient Babylonian Code of Hammurabi around 1750 BC . In societies like Babylonia and Assyria, the harshness of the offence depends on the social and marital status of the victim . Illegal sexual activities were divided into; 1) Adultery 2) sexual Intercourse with an unmarried woman or widow or 3) intercourse with coercion or force . Therefore, rape of a virgin was an economic problem with features of a property crime, whereas rape of a married woman was often considered a justification to avoid execution

However, there was an exception in times of war and robbery, since the lack of freedom prevented the likelihood of consent. Likewise, in Roman law, rape was considered a crime of property against the husband or father of the victim . The crime of raptus constitutes tacking away of a woman by violence. The woman was thus separated from the person under whose power she lives. As Roman law grew, raptus could include abduction or sexual intercourse by force, thus becoming a sexual crime . In general crime of rape has been largely ignored and treated as other forms of illegal sex. Certain categories of women are unrappeble, e.g. prostitutes . The Justinian Code extended protection to unmarried women, widows or nuns, who would be devalued by the act since “chastity once contaminated cannot be restored.” As a result, women were not considered self-sufficient agents in their sexuality because it was not their own personal product