Why US military prosecutes alleged rapes of women in UK as ‘sexual assaults’

American service personnel accused of rape on British soil are being charged with lesser offences by their military courts, a discrepancy that experts say is deepening the traumatic impact on survivors long after verdicts are passed.

British law defines rape as when someone puts their penis in another person’s vagina, anus or mouth without their consent and carries a maximum life sentence. Whether or not a victim was intoxicated is not relevant; the law centres on whether the alleged victim consented to the sexual act.

In contrast, under article 120 of the UCMJ, a rape charge requires the prosecution to prove that the defendant, without consent, used force or administered an intoxicant. In cases where the victim was drinking alcohol voluntarily, or is not proven to have been overwhelmed by force, the case is charged as sexual assault, with a maximum penalty of 20 years.