The court essentially said that an assailant had to use physical force or threats for his actions to be considered rape. This decision is obviously very troubling. This essentially requires the woman to physically resist her assailant. Almost immediately after opinion in Berkowitz was handed down, the Pennsylvania legislature revised their sexual assault statutes. The term includes, but is not limited to, compulsion resulting in another person's death, whether the death occurred before, during or after sexual intercourse.
Marital rape is another area where the law has changed dramatically over time.
In the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, nearly every state had a marital rape exclusion to their rape statutes. In other words, a man could not be found guilty of raping his wife. This was due in large part to the point of view that a wife was merely a piece of property owned by her husband to be used as he saw fit. As discussed in Smith , over the years these provisions of rape statutes have been almost entirely eliminated. While a few states still maintain some form of a marital rape exception, as the 20th century has progressed, most states have removed them.