Rape victims and their supporters lashed out at the governor after a state agency proposed a regulation which would add the word "forcible" in front of "rape."Support groups for rape victims said the new term would have a grave impact on certain victims who apply for state child care funds. They said rape is rape and there is no need to add a qualifier to the term.
"Rape is rape. The attempt to differentiate the different severities of rape only further harm the women and men who have been surviving through this," Adriann Balboa said.
The New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department made the proposal in dealing with certain child care services in the state. Gov. Susana Martinez is now under attack over the issue, but she said she agrees with her critics.
"As a former prosecutor the words are redundant. Rape is a forcible sexual crime against an individual," Martinez said. "(Forcible rape) is not a term the state chooses to use in any kind of documents."
The governor said that's how the term is written in federal law. In order to get federal money to help rape victims, Martinez said it needs to be written the way the federal government requires...
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