Abstract
Marital union has the assumption of love, unity, conjugation, protection and approval by the society. Thus sexual relationships within the emblem of marriage are approved by law, society and God. Parties to marital union retain their basic human rights, however the assumption of unity in marriage makes it difficult to access human rights protection, in some countries, by women who are inherently vulnerable to harm and abuse. Marital union is viewed as the mechanism through which a husband gets licensed sexual satisfaction from his wife not minding the means it is obtained. This paper looks at the legality and morality of overlooking acts contravening human right laws, carried out within the ambit of marriage. It questions the legality of upholding marital unity while overlooking the abysmal mental and physical health issues carried out in marriage. This paper provides the conclusion that marital unity should be interpreted alongside with provisions of human right laws; while contradictory legal provisions should stand annulled by reason of its contradiction with human rights provisions. It was recommended that Nigerian laws on exemption of marital rape be reviewed and extended, by so doing partners would be made responsible for their actions in marriage. Keywords : Marital Rape, Women Human Rights, Violence, DOI : 10.7176/JLPG/89-25 Publication date :September 30 th 2019
Highlights
The law of contract transfers rights and obligation within the ambits of the law, to contractual parties (The University of New Mexico, 2019); thereby ensuring that laws are not broken in a bid to reach agreements
Nigeria has domesticated human rights law under its constitution, 1 it is yet to domesticate the provisions of UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women (DEVAW) which provides for the criminalization of marital rape (Rendall & Venkatesh, 2016)
West (2017) asserts that criminalizing marital rape would be a breakthrough in understanding the provisions of human rights laws, many states have intentionally stayed away from recognising it as a right while others have provided a leeway of escape such as a provision that a perpetrator can evade legal action where he marries his rape victim; stating that rape cannot occur between two married people (Rendall & Venkatesh, 2016)
Summary
The law of contract transfers rights and obligation within the ambits of the law, to contractual parties (The University of New Mexico, 2019); thereby ensuring that laws are not broken in a bid to reach agreements. Nigeria has domesticated human rights law under its constitution, 1 it is yet to domesticate the provisions of UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women (DEVAW) which provides for the criminalization of marital rape (Rendall & Venkatesh, 2016).2
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
