this post was submitted on 01 Mar 2026
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Agree in principal, but this would also require a justice system that punishes rape like cannibalism - which is essentially just murder with extra steps. So that's a choice we'd have to make as a society.
Kinda.
The big shifts come from social attitudes rather than legal consequences.
Doesn't mean the law isn't worthwhile, only that the threat of punishment feels far more distant and abstract than social consequences.
For example, here in the UK, knife crime and drink driving were addressed by changing public perception of them rather than increasing legal consequences.
See also "The War on Drugs" to reflect on the powers of the law vs society.
Cannibalism isn't exactly illegal.
Murder and manslaughter obviously is, but chowing down on the remains is a violation of other laws like interfering with a corpse, indecent treatment of a body, or improper disposal of human remains. There's no law specifically outlawing cannibalism.
If you didn't kill the person, but only ate part of them (maybe a lucky find on the hiking trail after a bear has been through because they were already dead, you thought nobody would notice a few extra chunks missing, you've always been curious, and this was a once in a lifetime opportunity) and get caught, the punishment is actually relatively mild. In some circumstances it could be even less than aggravated assault.