Beginning with a harrowing account of the St. John's rape case, Sanday reaches back through British and American landmark rape cases to explain how, with the exception of earliest Colonial times, rape has been a crime notable for placing the woman on trial. Whether she is charged as a false accuser, gold digger, loose or scorned woman, stereotypes prevail. American jurisprudence and the public at large remain divided on acquaintance rape.

And now, as the Violence Against Women Actthe most important legislation for women in twenty years - has been passed, a new breed of antifeminists has stepped up to the plate to subordinate women's bid for sexual autonomy and freedom. A groundbreaking work of scholarship that coherently challenges the anti-rape backlash and its rhetoric, A Woman Scorned brings a broader perspective to our understanding of acquaintance rape and envisions, finally, a new paradigm for female sexual equality.