Sexual Violence: Our War Against Rape

IN THE FIRST OF HER SIX BOOKS, MS. FAIRSTEIN GOES INTO DETAIL ABOUT THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM, AND HOW IT HAS EVOLVED TO BE MORE RESPONSIVE AND USER-FRIENDLY FOR CRIME VICTIMS. SHE DESCRIBES HER START IN THE NEW YORK COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEYS OFFICE, AND MOVING UP THE RANKS IN AN OFFICE THAT HAD RELATIVELY FEW WOMEN ADAs AT THE TIME. IN 1976, SHE WAS APPOINTED TO HEAD UP ITS SEX CRIMES PROSECUTION UNIT (THE FIRST OF ITS KIND IN THE COUNTRY). OVER THE YEARS SHE HAS SENT MANY RAPISTS TO PRISON. HOWEVER, THRU THE YEARS, HER OFFICE HAS KEPT UP-TO-DATE WITH NEW CRIME FIGHTING TECHNIQUES (SUCH AS DNA AND FORENSIC SCIENCE)IN ITS BATTLE TO END VIOLENCE AGAINST LAW-ABIDING CITIZENS. SHE HAS BEEN VERY FAIR TO ALL PARTIES IN THE HANDLING OF CASES BY HER & HER UNIT OVER THE YEARS. THIS IS A MUST READ FOR ANYONE INTERESTED IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE, AND THE EVOLUTION OF THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM OVER THE PAST THREE DECADES.

Linda Fairstein has described the inner workings of the Manhattan Distric Attorney's office regarding rape cases during the 1970's. The laws and procedures have changed a great deal since that time and Fairstein was personally involved in many of the changes. The book is, of course, slanted a bit to favor her office, particularly in its canonization of D.A. Robert Morgenthau, but these attorneys do deserve credit for streamlining the system to handle the victims more sensitively. Fairstein's book would hold any reader with an interest in the law as well as anyone who has suffered from any form of sexual violence. It is the rare account of social change as written by one of its instigators