--- title: Maryland Rape Law Loosens Burden of Evidence for Victims description: The new law establishes that survivors do not need to provide evidence that they physically fought back. Verbal resistance is enough canonical: https://time.com/4745731/maryland-rape-law-evidence/ author: Raisa Bruner article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-04-19T01:10:37.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T09:05:29.288Z og:title: Maryland Rape Victims Don't Have to Prove They Fought Back Under New Law og:description: They no longer have to provide proof of "physical resistance" og:url: https://time.com/4745731/maryland-rape-law-evidence/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0a74c67d94d90490/6988c37bcd1bba962f704caa/gov-larry-hogan.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4794 og:image:height: 2697 og:image:alt: Larry Hogan, Thomas V. Mike Miller, Michael Busch og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Maryland Rape Victims Don't Have to Prove They Fought Back Under New Law twitter:description: They no longer have to provide proof of "physical resistance" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0a74c67d94d90490/6988c37bcd1bba962f704caa/gov-larry-hogan.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Maryland Rape Victims Don't Have to Prove They Fought Back Under New Law > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME Worth Your Time: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Worth Your Time is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. A weekly guide to what to watch, read, and more. 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Worth Your Time is TIME's culture newsletter, published weekly. #### Who writes TIME's culture recommendations? Culture editor Eliza Berman writes Worth Your Time, drawing on TIME's critics and culture desk. #### Is Worth Your Time free? Yes. It is a free newsletter available at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-worth-2026q3/newsletters?i=4b3841d0-3b7a-49f1-b7b7-b034bb133edf&cr=time-nl-worth-2026q3-v1)  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Apr 19, 2017 1:10 AM UTC  Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, center, signs a series of bills between Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller, left, and House Speaker Michael Busch during a bill signing ceremony following the state's legislative session at the Maryland State House in Annapolis, Md. on April 11, 2017. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, center, signs a series of bills between Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller, left, and House Speaker Michael Busch during a bill signing ceremony following the state's legislative session at the Maryland State House in Annapolis, Md. on April 11, 2017. Patrick Semansky—AP  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Apr 19, 2017 1:10 AM UTC Rape survivors in Maryland will no longer have to provide evidence of “physical resistance” to prove a sexual crime was committed, [under a new law](https://governor.maryland.gov/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Bills-to-be-Signed-by-the-Governor-on-April-18-2017.pdf) signed by the state’s governor on Tuesday. In changing the legal definition of rape for the state, the law makes it so that saying no — and not fighting back — will hold up in court, in line with [most other states.](http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/18/us/maryland-rape-law-updated-sb-217/) “Sexual assault survivors will no longer be forced to choose between keeping safe or having access to justice,” said Lisae Jordan, executive director of the Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault, [told BuzzFeed News](https://www.buzzfeed.com/alexcampbell/under-maryland-rape-law-no-will-finally-mean-no?utm%5Fterm=.wgeogebXE#.qx1WLe0vz). “‘No’ will mean ‘no’ and the law will back them up.” Previously, Maryland’s rape law required more than just lack of verbal consent to classify a crime as rape. Instead, the statute called for evidence of “force or the threat of force,” which police often construed as meaning that physical resistance on the part of the victim had to be present as well. But as [BuzzFeed News pointed out](https://www.buzzfeed.com/alexcampbell/unfounded?utm%5Fterm=.dcqemq5bZ#.mkPAZLoJ9) in a 2016 investigation, instances in which victims are threatened with harm if they fight back make that physical response unlikely. As a result, many rape reports were considered “unfounded” by police. That will no longer be the case. The new law was first introduced as legislation by delegate Kathleen Dumais more than ten years ago. It will now go into effect on Oct. 1\. However, Maryland [is still one of seven states](http://motto.time.com/4744903/maryland-law-women-rapists/) in which women could legally be forced to share custody of children with their rapists. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4745731/maryland-rape-law-evidence/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4745731/maryland-rape-law-evidence/"},"headline":"Maryland Rape Victims Don't Have to Prove They Fought Back Under New Law","datePublished":"2017-04-19T01:10:37.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T09:05:29.288Z","description":"They no longer have to provide proof of \"physical resistance\"","url":"https://time.com/4745731/maryland-rape-law-evidence/","keywords":["motto","Maryland","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0a74c67d94d90490/6988c37bcd1bba962f704caa/gov-larry-hogan.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Raisa Bruner","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0a74c67d94d90490/6988c37bcd1bba962f704caa/gov-larry-hogan.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Larry Hogan, Thomas V. 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