Marital Rape Research Articles

The case processing of intimate partner sexual assault: a brief review and recommendations for future research

Research examining legal responses to violence against women has historically dichotomised sexual assault and intimate partner violence, leaving unanswered questions regarding criminal justice responses to intimate partner violence incidents that involve sexual violence. Although research has examined whether cases involving partners, acquaintances or strangers are handled differently, few scholars consider the specific factors that undermine intimate partner sexual assault case processing. The current article guides future intimate partner sexual assault case-processing research with the hopes of filling this research void. Understanding intimate partner sexual assault case processing is necessary so that police, prosecutors and practitioners can use research-based approaches to increase victim satisfaction and decrease attrition.

Exploring stress, cognitive, and affective mechanisms of the relationship between interpersonal trauma and opioid misuse.

BackgroundPeople with a history of interpersonal trauma, including intimate partner violence, sexual assault, and adverse childhood experiences, are disproportionately affected by the current opioid epidemic. Interpersonal trauma has been shown to increase risk for chronic pain conditions, prescription opioid use, and opioid misuse. Stress, cognition, and affective function have been examined as potential mechanisms that may influence opioid misuse among individuals with a history of interpersonal trauma. However, no studies have examined these factors simultaneously, despite their interrelatedness.ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to 1) examine perceived stress, perceived cognitive function, depressive symptoms, and PTSD symptoms as potential mechanisms of opioid misuse among individuals with a history of interpersonal trauma, 2) examine the types of interpersonal trauma that are associated with opioid misuse, and 3) assess the mediating role of pain and opioid prescription.MethodsA cross-sectional, observational study design was conducted. Data were collected through a confidential self-report online survey using validated instruments (n = 230). A series of regression analyses were conducted to identify mechanistic factors and interpersonal trauma types associated with opioid misuse, opioid prescription, and pain intensity. Structural equation modeling was used to examine mediating effects of pain intensity and opioid prescription.ResultsOpioid prescription, depressive symptoms, and intimate partner violence increased the odds of reporting opioid misuse. Pain intensity and adverse childhood experiences increased the odds of opioid prescription. Higher levels of perceived stress and depressive symptoms were associated with increased pain intensity. Pain intensity emerged as a mediator of the relationship between depressive symptoms and opioid misuse.ConclusionsOur work shows that there are likely several pathways through which interpersonal trauma can lead to opioid misuse. Interventions aimed at improving depressive symptoms and coping with traumatizing events should be included as part of comprehensive trauma-informed pain management practices.

Judgments of marital rape as a function of honor culture, masculine reputation threat, and observer gender: A cross-cultural comparison between Turkey, Germany, and the UK.

Previous research has shown that there is higher tolerance of violence against women in cultures with salient gender‐specific honor norms, especially when the violence occurs in intimate relationships and in response to threat to male honor. The present cross‐cultural study (N = 398) extended these findings to sexual aggression (i.e., marital rape) by comparing participants from a culture that emphasizes honor (Turkey) and participants from cultures without strong honor traditions (Germany and Britain). Turkish participants blamed the victim and exonerated the perpetrator more than did German and British participants. In all cultural groups, participants blamed the victim and exonerated the perpetrator more when the husband's reputation was threatened than in the absence of such threat, and in all cultural groups, men blamed the victim and exonerated the perpetrator more than women. Yet, the effect of masculine reputation threat and this pattern of gender differences were somewhat more pronounced among Turkish than German or British participants. Results exploring the predictive role of honor norms at the individual level beyond rape myth acceptance and traditional gender role attitudes revealed that honor norms were the primary predictor of rape perceptions and blame attributions in Turkey (an honor culture), but not in Germany and Britain (dignity cultures) where rape myth acceptance was the strongest predictor. These results provide insights into the cultural factors influencing marital rape judgments in ways that may undermine victim's well‐being and fair handling of rape cases, and highlight the domains most urgently in need of potential intervention.

Legal Protection Against Women in Sexual Violence

Introduction: Sexual violence is one of the morbidities and mortality factors in women. Sexual violence of women causes physical and physiological sequences that make them vulnerable to health problems. Material and method: It was normative legal research with a literature study and document study as a method to collect the research data. Findings: Marital sexual abuse or the highest personal relation was incest with 1,071 cases followed by raping with 818 cases, and molestation with 321 cases. Meanwhile, marital rape reached 195 cases. The forms of sexual violence consist of sexual harassment, sexual exploitation, coercion of contraceptive use, compulsion in abortion, rape, marital compulsion, prostitution, sexual bondage, and sexual torture. The protection against victims of sexual violence was considered to be not optimal due to a lack of public understanding of the causes and effects of sexual violence. Conclusion: So far, the legal protection against women in sexual violence cases have not been optimally implemented. The minimum legal protection triggered impunity, reoccurrence, and even the victims’ frustration to accept justice and recovery.

The Unwilling Wife: Marital Rape in the Canterbury Tales

Abstract Medieval English law maintained that it was impossible for a man to rape his legal spouse. Yet across literature of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, medieval writers fixated upon the figure of the spouse who was unwilling to have sex with his or her partner. This marked attention suggests that while marital consent was a closed discussion in the realm of medieval law, it remained open and alive in the literary imagination. In the Canterbury Tales, Chaucer presents a range of unwilling spouses, from saint's life to romance to fabliau. As Chaucer remixes theories of consent across genres, the Canterbury Tales makes its most radical statement on marital consent in the fabliau. In the Shipman's Tale, the wife's negotiation of her own multiple sexual relationships denaturalizes the basic assumptions of marital consent, opening up the imaginative space necessary to theorize marital rape.

Deconstructing Characterizations of Rape, Marriage, and Custom in South Africa: Revisiting The Multi-Sectoral Campaign Against Ukuthwala

AbstractA critique of multi-sectoral responses to the customary practice ofukuthwala(the isiXhosa term for abduction for purposes of marriage) in South Africa highlights attention to gendered tropes pertaining to marriage, custom, and sexual assault. Karimakwenda deconstructs how, in its inflexible framing of customary practice, the multi-sectoral campaign against violent forms of ukuthwala lacks historicization and silences women’s narratives. By obscuring historical and locally-embedded linkages between marriage practices and rape, the myopic campaign energizes collective anxieties around representations of violence within Black communities, and fuels misconceptions surrounding marital rape. This critique contributes to debates about gender, violence, and state power by offering a counter-narrative to simplified characterizations of sexual violence and custom.

Melanie Randall, Jennifer Koshan, and Patricia Nyaundi, eds, The Right to Say No: Marital Rape and Law Reform in Canada, Ghana, Kenya and Malawi

Melanie Randall, Jennifer Koshan, and Patricia Nyaundi, eds, <i>The Right to Say No: Marital Rape and Law Reform in Canada, Ghana, Kenya and Malawi</i>

The Effects of Co-Occurring Interpersonal Trauma and Gender on Opioid Use and Misuse.

The association between interpersonal trauma (IPT) and opioid misuse is well established. There are important gaps, however, in our understanding of this relationship. Studies often do not account for the co-occurrence of IPT across time (i.e., multiple experiences of the same type of IPT) and contexts (i.e., experiences of different types of IPT). In addition, few studies have examined the relationship between IPT and prescription opioid use or gender differences. To address these gaps, this study examines the impact of IPT co-occurrence and gender on prescription opioid use and opioid misuse. Data were collected through a cross-sectional online survey of 235 adults with a self-reported history of IPT (i.e., intimate partner violence, sexual assault, adverse childhood experiences). IPT co-occurrence and interactions between IPT, as continuous scales, were assessed as correlates of opioid use and misuse using multinomial regression models. IPT was associated with opioid misuse, but not use, adjusting for gender. The relationship between sexual assault and opioid misuse was confounded by exposure to other types of IPT. Intimate partner violence was associated with opioid misuse among men. Adverse childhood experiences were associated with misuse among women. The interaction between intimate partner violence and sexual assault increased odds of opioid use among women. This study highlights the importance of accounting for IPT co-occurrence and examining gender differences in clinical practice and research related to opioid use/misuse. These approaches are important for understanding the relationship between IPT and opioid use/misuse by more accurately representing the complexity of the lives of survivors.

EL MATRIMONIO INFANTIL EN MÉXICO

Child marriage is a major social phenomenon in which children and adolescents are abused and exposed. Their rights are violated and they are exposed to both physically and psychologically dangers, since it is a forced marriage between an adult and a minor. It is a disorder where drastically change from a child or teenager to play the role of and adult with a series of responsibilities not suitable for their age. The child not only have to be inserted into adulthood but they also develop as wives or husbands, even in mothers without having reached adulthood or without even knowing what marriage and motherhood implies. Child marriage is a serious violation of the Rights of the Child, and girls are more vulnerable to this situation, as they have to bear the obligation to be both wife and marital rape is increasing when they are in. Leaving childhood and moving into adulthood is not easy, nor is it possible to assimilate from one day to another, so children who suffer from this violation have serious problems developing before society because they are prevented from physical freedom, as well as the ability to decide their future for themselves.

The Language of Erasure: Neutralization Techniques in Contemporary South African Marital Rape Judgments.

This article investigates how the rape myths that underpinned the marital rape exemption in South Africa until 1993 have filtered into contemporary legal discourse. Through a feminist sociolegal framing, I integrate multidisciplinary tools that counter simplistic conceptions of rape myths and highlight how myths are locally and culturally contingent. With this foundation, I apply neutralization theory to the judicial language of marital rape cases to explicate how patriarchal caricatures of sexual violence transition from the social sphere into the legal sphere. This exercise illuminates how judges and rapists draw upon the same culturally sanctioned language and techniques to justify marital rape.

Gay, Bisexual, and Queer Men's Attitudes and Understandings of Intimate Partner Violence and Sexual Assault.

Gay, bisexual, and queer (GBQ) men experience significant rates of intimate partner violence (IPV) and sexual assault (SA); however, there is limited research into their attitudes and understandings of IPV and SA. This article presents the findings of a 2018 survey of 895 GBQ men currently residing in Australia, focused on their views and experiences of healthy and unhealthy relationships. The survey included quantitative and open-ended qualitative questions. The findings presented in this article are primarily descriptive, with cross-tabulations and t tests to demonstrate significant differences between groups and correlational statistics to outline associations between variables. Qualitative data were coded under broad themes. The study found a considerable proportion of men (three in five) identified that they had experienced an unhealthy or abusive relationship in the past, with minimal disclosure to police or health services. Men with a history of partner abuse or violence were more likely to report binge drinking or drug use and more likely to know a friend who had abused his partner. 40% of the sample had witnessed an incident of relationship violence between GBQ men, and two-thirds intervened in the violence in some way. The findings of this study underscore the need to engage GBQ men in discussions about respectful relationships, address the role of alcohol and drugs in GBQ socialization and relationships, and provide bystander skills for men to intervene in situations of aggression or violence between men in relationships.

Consent in Marriage: A Radical Feminist Analysis of Pakistani Law

Marital rape is not a recognized offense in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The legal definition of rape, as amended in 2006, defines the victim of rape as a woman, thereby opening room for judicial interpretation to criminalize rape within marriage. Despite this, there have been no reported cases of marital rape in Pakistan. Using the radical feminist lens, it is argued this is because the current law fails to comprehend the unreality of a wife’s ‘consent’ to sex in marriage. Under Shariah, a wife has an obligation to sexually submit to her husband, whereas the legal, social and economic inequalities prevalent within marriage also oblige her to have sex. Neither precludes legally valid consent. A reconception of marital rape based on sex inequality is required.

Age, marital status and sexual offences: A “Law Triangle” for women in India

The Indian legislature discriminates women based on age and marital status when quantum of punishment for sexual offences is in question. These two major factors frequently affect the criminalization of an accused by providing windows to escape in cases of sexual offences pertaining to marital relationship. The current ambiguities between the acts and Indian Penal Code in relation to age of consent, marital rape needs to be addressed at earliest. The paper outlines the revolutionary picture of changes in “Age of consent” and describes how multiple marriage acts contradict the content of S.375 IPC. It further argues on the role of the POCSO act with few conflicting verdicts in similar type of cases under the same. The paper reviews the legal aspects of marital rape and discusses how marital rape is still a “permitted offence” even after the recommendations of its deletion by the Justice Verma committee as well as United Nations. It also highlights the parliamentary debates on existence of marital rape. Recent changes in relation to S.375 and S.377 IPC in the context of marital rape are also discussed. It is high time India reconsider these laws that are still popular for their orthodox nature and contradictory content.

A Historical Analysis of Rape Laws in India

Sexual assault and its various forms have been recognized by almost all the society and have been recorded by history. It is not a crime against women but it is the crime against the whole society; it is against the basic human rights of all the individuals. Rape laws have been recognized by all the countries; in India 'rape laws' began with the enactment of the Indian Penal Code 1860. After 1860 there have been various amendments, and the main issue of focus remained on the definition of The inclusion of 'consent' and 'age of consent' in rape became a very big matter of debate and thus wth proper judgments and amendments the consent part in rape has been made clear. A big matter of debate from the 1990s until today in the ambit of rape laws is the inclusion of marital rape. Facing public protests and political pressure after the attack, the government reformed some laws on sexual violence and harsher punishments but still sexual attacks have caused outrage. This paper discusses various amendments that have been made till today regarding rape laws in India and reason and the need for those changes and the loopholes that still exist in rape laws in today's Indian legal system.

Medico Legal Cases in One Stop Crisis Management Center (OCMC) Kaski

Background: The OCMC (One stop crisis management center) has been established in the recognized government hospitals of Nepal. The OCMC has built coalition and create an organizational manage­ment system with other organizations for providing comprehensive health and treatment services, legal aid services, and counseling services and make cer­tain protection to the survivors of GBV (Gender based violence) as well as to manage and control GBV incident. Worldwide more than 119 countries have laws on domestic violence, 125 countries have laws on sexual pestering and 52 coun­tries have laws on marital rape but still women are suffering from different physical, sexual and Psy­chological violence. Rape, hurt/battery, Indecent as­sault, are the main forms of violence.&#x0D; Materials and Methods: Study is conducted in Western regional Hospital Pokhara, in OCMC (One stop crisis management center). It is a cross-section­al type of study. Data collected by the observation, interview and case study from the survivors of vi­olence, available published materials related to women Violence and OCMC are also studied. Total 200 cases of GBV survivors came to OCMC center of Kaski from 2073Baisakh to 2074Ashad and included in the study as a primary source of data.&#x0D; Conclusion and Result: Out of total 200 cases, sexual offence victims were maximum in number which was 140 and least were forced marriage vic­tim which were only 4 in number. More than 50% of dalit caste people were the survivors of GBV cases. GBV cases were predominant in age group of 20- 30 years. Maximum numbers of victims of GBV in sexual offence cases were alleged Rape cases which accounts 85% of total cases came to OCMC center.

Understanding the Analogy of Sexual Assault on Married Females Vis-à-Vis Constitutionally Recognised Human Rights Provisions

Ever since the formation of U.N.O. in 1945 after the end of Second World War, the issue of Human rights protection is being discussed constantly in various international human rights documents & conventions. In simple terms Human rights are those very basic, multifaceted inalienable rights which mainly evolved out of the notions of self-respect. They are inherent in all humans since their birth and are indiscriminately available to everyone irrespective of their religion, caste, color, sex, gender, race etc. However “Rape” or Sexual Assault is considered as one of the gravest violations of human rights of women and is punishable by our criminal laws. But still somehow the issue of marital rape on both married girl child as well as upon adult married women needs to be addressed properly both from the substantive and procedural criminal perspective. As still the evil of marital rape on both minor and adult females which takes place within the confines of institution of marriage is continuously abridging or violating the very basic human right to equality, bodily integrity, dignity and self worth. On October 11, 2017, the apex court of our country issued a landmark judgment ensuring every girl’s right to bodily integrity, and penalizing rape within child marriage. This same philosophy of human rights protection also needs to be implemented in reference to marital rape on Adult women as well. Hence this research paper seeks to address the issue of criminalization of marital rape in India while concentrating on the constitutional and human rights based approaches discussed in Independent thought case of 2017.

اغتصاب الزوجة في القانون محو العنف العائلي الإندونيسي مقارنا بالفقه الإسلامي

The purpose of this research is to analyze the issue of marital rape provided in the law on the elimination of family violence - Law No. 23 of 2004th- and the draft of book of Indonesian criminal law, compared to Islamic jurisprudence through the views of scholars in the case. The research found the following results: there is difference in meaning of term of rape between Islamic jurisprudence and Indonesian Law. The term of rape in Islamic Jurisprudence formed from two elements: forbidden intercourse and coercion. While the rape in Indonesian Law is based on the absence of choice in intercourse, and its applicable to married and unmarried persons. Although the Islamic Juriprudence and Indonesian Law have same views in prohibition any actions of violence againts women, however the difference between two laws in the concept of the rape has implications in type of punishmen toward this crime.

Interpersonal Trauma as a Marker of Risk for Urinary Tract Dysfunction in Midlife and Older Women.

To examine relationships between interpersonal trauma exposures and urinary symptoms in community-dwelling midlife and older women. We analyzed cross-sectional data from a multiethnic cohort of women aged 40-80 years enrolled in an integrated health care system in California. Lifetime history of intimate partner violence (IPV) and sexual assault, current posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, and current urinary symptoms were assessed using structured-item questionnaires. Multivariable-adjusted logistic regression models examined associations between traumatic exposures and PTSD symptoms with any weekly urinary incontinence, stress-type incontinence, urgency-type incontinence, and nocturia two or more times per night. Of the 1,999 participants analyzed, 21.7% women reported lifetime emotional IPV, 16.2% physical IPV, 19.7% sexual assault, and 22.6% reported clinically significant PTSD symptoms. Overall, 45% reported any weekly incontinence, 23% stress-type incontinence, 23% urgency-type incontinence, and 35% nocturia. Exposure to emotional IPV was associated with any weekly incontinence (odds ratio [OR] 1.33, 95% CI 1.04-1.70), stress-type incontinence (OR 1.30, 95% CI 1.00-1.65), urgency-type incontinence (OR 1.30, 95% CI 1.00-1.70), and nocturia (OR 1.73, 95% CI 1.36-2.19). Physical IPV exposure was associated with nocturia (OR 1.35, 95% CI 1.04-1.77), but not incontinence. Sexual assault history was not associated with weekly incontinence of any type or nocturia. Symptoms of PTSD were associated with all urinary symptoms assessed, including any weekly incontinence (OR 1.46, 95% CI 1.15-1.85), stress-type incontinence (OR 1.70, 95% CI 1.32-2.20), urgency-type incontinence (OR 1.60, 95% CI 1.24-2.06), and nocturia (OR 1.95, 95% CI 1.55-2.45). More than 20% of women in this multiethnic, community-based cohort reported a history of IPV, PTSD symptoms, or both, which were associated with symptomatic urinary tract dysfunction. Findings highlight the need to provide trauma-informed care of midlife and older women presenting with urinary symptoms.

India’s Rape Crisis: Redefining India’s Rape Laws Based on a Constructive and Comparative Analysis of the Rape Epidemic in India and the United States

Summary This Article addresses the rape epidemic in India and provides an analytical comparison to the rape laws in the United States. This Article provides an overview of the laws in both India and the United States and specifically discusses marital rape and the laws concerning it in both nations. This Article concludes with resolutions for the marital rape laws in India and the United States.

Violence Against Women (Domestic Violence, Rape, Marital Rape, Prostitution)

This study examines the current situation surrounding sexual violence against women in India and the coping strategies for individual women. Violence against women is now generally recognized as a severe violation of human rights, and critical public health concern with major physical, emotional, sexual, and reproductive health implications. Hence the ultimate aim of this research paper was to analyze various types of crime, atrocities, and violence against women and their varied patterns, what are the problems faced during the competition of this paper, to determine the extent of domestic violence against women and related factors.