The approach of the lay and professional public in Pilsen to the issue of rape

The main purpose of this master's thesis was to analyze the views of the general public and professionals in the city of Pilsen on the issue of rape using both qualitative and quantitative research methods. The qualitative section of the research was supported by interviews with qualified employees of Bílý kruh bezpečí, People in need Czech republic, Občanská poradna Plzeň, crisis centre Plus pro lidi v krizové situace, employee of the Probation and Mediation Service in Pilsen, patrolmen and detectives from the Criminal Police department in Pilsen. The following quantitative research was conducted using method of questionnaire survey with participants from the general public. The research was focused primarily on prosecution strategies in rape cases, general knowledge of sexual assault crime laws in Czech Republic, overal awareness of the issue and interest in further education on the topic from both general public and professionals. The theoretical part of the thesis was focused on the term of rape and its history, myths about rape, the victim and the offender, laws regarding rape in the Czech Republic and the methods of investigation of rape cases. The thesis also presents relevant statistic data on the subject matter, common practice and casuistry examples from other countries and also includes..