Marital Rape Research Articles

Marital rape immunity in India: historical anomaly or cultural defence?

This paper will examine the legal position India holds today with respect to marital rape. It will first study how India’s criminal law has been shaped over the years: starting with its colonial common law inheritance from England, and with the development of the criminal law through its inclusion in Macaulay’s Code and continued retention in the Indian Penal Code 1860 (IPC). Outside the IPC, the law has not stood still. There have been recent reforms seeking to advance women’s rights to be free from family violence, such as The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005 (PWDVA). After tracing the history of India’s legal responses, the paper will closely investigate the influence of broader Indian culture (claims based on patriarchy and religion) on rape law reform, finally making a case for abolition of the immunity based on the fundamental principle of equality, drawing on arguments from the human rights guarantees included in the Constitution of India, and India’s international legal obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).

Rape, deterrence and rehabilitation: a need to relook the policy discourse

Two judges of the Supreme Court, Justice Lodha and Justice Lokur, in August 2013, instructed all the states of India to frame a relief and rehabilitation scheme for rape victims. Undoubtedly, this was a vital step to ensure women’s well-being as a woman rape victim often faces several violations of rights. The rape of a woman within marriage and outside marriage destroys her dignity and reproductive rights, and makes her susceptible to sexually transmitted diseases. This study was undertaken in two states of India to understand the link between marital rape, rape and HIV. It found that women who contracted HIV infection due to rape faced several social, economic and health problems, and yet received no rehabilitation support from the state. In this context, the instruction of the Supreme Court demanding the provision of compensation and rehabilitation to all rape victims needs to be followed by the reconsideration of the already existing discourse on law against rape, and the sensitive handling of rape victims who may also be HIV positive. There is an immediate need of provisioning sexual and reproductive health care services for rape survivors, and to ensure that rehabilitation schemes are accessible to every female victim in the society.

Characterizing Sexual Violence in Intimate Relationships: An Examination of Blame Attributions and Rape Acknowledgment.

Rape by an intimate partner frequently involves a precedence of sexual consent between victim and perpetrator, often does not include the use of physical force, and may not fit societal definitions of rape. Given these unique characteristics, women who are assaulted by an intimate partner may be less likely to acknowledge the experience as a rape. In turn, they might make fewer blame attributions toward themselves and their perpetrators than victims of rape by a nonpartner. Consistent with these expectations, results from 208 community women reporting rape in adulthood revealed the presence of indirect effects of perpetrator type (nonpartner vs. intimate partner) on both behavioral self-blame and perpetrator blame through rape acknowledgment, even when controlling for both victim substance use at the time of the assault and coercion severity. Compared with women who experienced a rape by a nonpartner, women who experienced rape in the context of a marital or dating relationship were less likely to blame themselves or the perpetrator for the assault, in part because they were less likely to label their experience as a rape. Overall, these findings highlight the unique nature of intimate partner rape and provide further information about the relatively underresearched area of sexual violence in intimate relationships.

A comparison of intimate partner and other sexual assault survivors\u2019 use of different types of specialized hospital-based violence services

BackgroundLittle is known about the health service utilization of women sexually assaulted by their intimate partners, as compared with those sexually assaulted by other perpetrators. To address this gap, we describe the use of acute care services post-victimization, as well as a broad range of survivor and assault characteristics, across women assaulted by current or former intimate partners, other known assailants, and strangers.MethodsInformation was gathered from individuals presenting to 30 hospital-based sexual assault and domestic violence treatment centres using a standardized data collection form. We examined the data from 619 women 16 years of age or older who were sexually assaulted by one assailant.ResultsWomen sexually assaulted by a current or former intimate partner were less likely than those assaulted by another known assailant or a stranger to have been administered emergency contraception (p < 0.001) or prophylaxis for sexually transmitted infections (p < 0.001), and counselled for potential use of HIV post-exposure prophylaxis (p < 0.001). However, these women were more likely than those in the other two groups to have had their injuries documented with photographs (p < 0.001), have undergone a risk assessment (p = 0.008), and/or have engaged in safety planning (p < 0.001).ConclusionsWomen sexually assaulted by current or former intimate partners utilized services offered by sexual assault and domestic violence treatment centres differently than those assaulted by other known assailants and strangers. This may reflect their different health, forensic, and social needs, as well as the importance of offering care tailored to their particular circumstances.

Sexual Violation in Islamic Law: Substance, Evidence, and Procedure

Sexual Violation in Islamic Law: Substance, Evidence, and Procedure

Marital Rape: Legal Framework In India

Marital rape violates the right of dignity of a married woman. It breaches the trust of wife. Even then, it is not criminalized as rape in India. It raises a question, is a married woman being considered an object or the property of the husband. It also raises the question, as to does a married woman has right to save her body from the lust of her husband. No doubt the purpose of the marriage is to provide right to have sex with wife. This paper points out whether this right can be coupled with force or right to have sex is only coupled with will or consent of wife. The purpose of the marriage in point of view of right to have sex should only be providing satisfaction of biological need without any check or burden of society and law. India has been a male dominated society and it is also a fact that Indian culture gives special status to the women. Today, we talk about women empowerment. Many rights have been provided to the women in India. But in a male dominated society, would women be empowered in real sense without criminalizing marital rape. The main purpose of this paper is to find out as to whether sex without the consent of wife should be considered as rape. Doctrinal method of research will be applied in this paper.

“Nothing That She Could Allege Against Him in Judicious or Judicial Ears”: “Consensual” Marital Abuse in Victorian Literature

AbstractI expand scholarship by Lawson and Shakinovsky, Rintoul, Surridge, and Tromp on marital abuse in nineteenth-century British fiction. Due to Blackstone's theory of coverture, wives allegedly consented on their wedding days to future abuse. Further, Bacon legalized physical and emotional marital abuse, and Hale established the marital rape exemption. The public, including nonfiction writers, erroneously asserted that marital abuse existed almost entirely in the lower classes, but fiction writers countered that myth by showing “consensual” abuse in middle- and upper-class marriages. With middle-class physical and emotional marital abuse in “Janet's Repentance” and upper-class sexual marital abuse in Daniel Deronda, Eliot shows all marital abuse as nonconsensual and enabled more overt condemnations of upper-class sexual marital abuse from Egerton's “Virgin Soil” and Galsworthy's The Man of Property and In Chancery.

Gender Based Violence Among Pregnant Women: A Hospital Based Study

Introduction: Gender Based Violence (GBV) is prevalent and exists to some extent in virtually all societies throughout the world. Evidence shows consistent negative effect of violence on health of women particularly. This hidden disease is perceived as a social issue and not a health issue and is often overlooked by health care providers.&#x0D; Methodology: This study was a Cross Sectional descriptive study conducted at national Academy of Medical Science affiliated Paropaker Women's and Maternity Hospital, Kathmandu enrolling 950 pregnant women from the emergency admission room who were interviewed using structured questionnaire from mid march to the end August in the year 2007.&#x0D; Result and discussion: Among 950 women suffered from gender based violence (33.36%). One hundred and fifty women faced psychological violence (47.31%), seventy two clients faced physical violence (22.71%), and forty two women faced sexual violence (13.24%) and rest of them faced all types of violence. Violence was reported during the current pregnancy (41.32%). Husbands were perpetrator of violence for almost on third of women (34.06%), followed by mother in low (18.29%). Joint violence by family members was quit common (28.1%). Perpetrator outside family was responsible for approximately 20% of cases. Domestic violence was extremely common accounting for more than four fifty of cases (81.38%). Among sexual violence, (45.45%) women were victim of marital rape. Alcoholism as one of the common reason for wife battering, observed in this study in Maternity Hospital which is still prevalent in Nepal. Often, verbal abuse is an excuse for imposing discipline in the family. Women's economic and emotional dependence on husband could be responsible for the vulnerable status in family. Health seeking behavior following violence was found to be extremely low in this study suggestion gender based violence as a privet matter.

Hidradenitis Suppurativa, Intimate Partner Violence, and Sexual Assault

Sexual assault and intimate partner violence have never been examined in individuals with hidradenitis suppurativa. The research is important, because prior studies show higher incidences of intimate partner violence and sexual assault in individuals with disabilities, and hidradenitis suppurativa meets criteria for a disability. The objective of the study is to examine whether individuals with hidradenitis suppurativa are at significantly higher risk of intimate partner violence and sexual assault compared with individuals who have acne, a recognised disability. Participants who met criteria for hidradenitis suppurativa and acne were recruited from a mid-sized university and a dermatology clinic. Participants spoke English and were over the age of sexual consent. Group (hidradenitis suppurativa and acne) differences on intimate partner violence and sexual assault were analysed. Victimisation within the past 12 months was measured using the Checklist for Controlling Behaviours, a measure of intimate partner violence, as well as the Sexual Experiences Survey-Short Form Victim, a measure of sexual assault. In total, 243 participants (n = 128 for hidradenitis suppurativa; n = 115 for acne) were surveyed. Individuals with hidradenitis suppurativa were significantly more likely to report being victimised by intimate partner violence. Intimate partner violence was more frequently observed in individuals with hidradenitis suppurativa. Health care providers should be aware of this issue when interacting with patients with hidradenitis suppurativa.

Evlilik İçi Cinsel Saldırı Olgularını Ruhsal Bulgular Olmadan Tespit Etmek Mümkün mü?

Amaç: Ülkemiz hukuk siteminde eşlerin birbirlerine karşı cinsel davranışlarının suç teşkil edip edemeyeceği hususu uzun yıllar tartışma konusu olmuştur. 01.06.2005 tarihinde yürürlüğe giren Türk Ceza Kanunu’nu ile eşe karşı cinsel saldırı suç olarak kabul edilmiştir. Ancak Türk Ceza Kanunu’nda yapılan değişiklik ile ruhsal değerlendirmenin geri plana itildiği düşünülmektedir. Bu çalışmada evlilik içi cinsel saldırı olguları değerlendirilmesi, ruhsal bulguların öneminin anlaşılması ve sunulması amaçlanmıştır.Gereç ve Yöntem: 2011-2016 yılları arasındaki 6 yıllık dönemde Eskişehir Adli Tıp Şube Müdürlüğü’ne müracaat eden, evlilik içi cinsel saldırı olguları çalışma kapsamına alındı. Ruhsal değerlendirme bulgularının önemi anlaşılmaya çalışıldı.Bulgular: 6 yılık dönemde 27 evlilik içi cinsel saldın olgusu müracaat etmiştir. Mağdurların % 48,2’sinin 17-24 yaş grubunda olduğu, yalnızca 2 olgunun (% 7,4) yüksek öğrenim mezunu olduğu belirlendi. Kanun değişikliği sonrasında sadece 1 olgunun müracaat ettiği saptandı. Olguların yalnızca 9’unda (% 33,3) fizik veya genital muayene ile bulgu elde edildi Ruhsal değerlendirmeler sonucu olgulann tümünde, cinsel saldın ile ilişkili ruhsal bulgular saptandı. Ruhsal bulgular olmadan olgulann 3’ te 2’sinde herhangi bir delil saptanamayacağı ve dolayısıyla dava açılamayacağı tespit edildi.Sonuç: Ruhsal değerlendirme bulgularının olmadığı cinsel saldın muayenesinin eksik olduğu saptanmıştır. Bu nedenle ilgili kanun maddesinin yeniden düzenlenmesi gerekmektedir. Ruhsal değerlendirme bulgulan, cinsel saldın için tanı koydurucu olarak kabul edilmeli ve kanun maddesinde açıkça belirtilmelidir. Tüm şehirlerde gerek çocuklar ve gerekse erişkinler için adli tıp ve psikiyatri uzmanlanmn birlikte çalışabileceği birimler acilen kurulmalıdır.

Discursive Problematisation of Marital Rape from an Intercultural Perspective: An Empirical Analysis

Violence against women is one of the main social problems worldwide. Marital rape and its recognition are discussed as a new boundary mark because of greater social sensitivity on violence. From an intercultural social work perspective, it is highly relevant to learn more about perceptions of different kinds of violence in order to plan adequate interventions. The article presents findings from expert interviews related to the perception and the intervention structure contextualised by the discourse on marital rape in India. It concludes six main implications for intercultural social work. The main finding (6) states that in all of these settings, the role of the family system should not be underestimated, and whenever possible couple counselling should be considered. Viewed against the background of the highly individualised Swiss society, this is a finding, which needs to be taken into careful account in Swiss intercultural social work.

Reducing Intimate Partner Violence and Sexual Assault in Adolescents Through Education: A Preliminary Study to Identify Locations of Need

Reducing Intimate Partner Violence and Sexual Assault in Adolescents Through Education: A Preliminary Study to Identify Locations of Need

Resisting silence

This paper illustrates how women in Iran use blogs to write about their relationships and feelings as a way of providing momentarily empowerment in a society that places restrictions on their freedom. We examine a relatively under-explored form of blogging, common to Iran, which we call ‘love blogging’, and we carry out a qualitative analysis of a small sample of four blog postings from different Iranian women which are used to illustrative different techniques that women use in order to challenge hegemonic gendered discourses in their society. We show how Iranian women use blogs as a way of revealing their innermost thoughts, creating alternative identities and articulating what is left ‘unsaid’ to their partners. The postings chosen highlight the disempowered status of women in Iranian society, from staying at home to carry out servicework to cases of marital rape and other forms of violence which Iranian women are expected to silently endure. The blog postings also indicate how women use techniques to avoid censorship, including use of metaphor, ambiguity, altered idioms and images.

Stalking Victimization in LGBTQ Adults: A Brief Report.

Stalking is often considered to be a form of interpersonal violence; yet, despite an increase in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ)-specific research on other forms of interpersonal violence, such as intimate partner violence and sexual assault, there is a relative lack of literature on stalking victimization of LGBTQ individuals, particularly as it relates to gender identity. This is problematic given the results of numerous studies indicating LGBTQ individuals, and transgender individuals in particular, experience victimization in various forms and contexts at alarming rates. In the current study, we examined secondary data to determine the prevalence of lifetime stalking victimization and subsequent police reporting in a large community-based sample of LGBTQ individuals living in Colorado (N = 1,116). In addition, using chi-square analyses, we examined independence of stalking experiences and police reporting by both gender identity (transgender, cisgender male, cisgender female) and sexual orientation (gay, lesbian, bisexual, heterosexual, queer, other). Approximately 15% of the total sample reported ever experiencing stalking; yet, only about one quarter of those who were stalked reported it to police. Although no statistically significant differences emerged by gender identity or sexual orientation, transgender, bisexual, and queer participants had the highest prevalence of lifetime stalking victimization. Moreover, these groups reported the lowest prevalence of reporting their victimization to the police. We provide suggestions to improve the development of research on this topic including a need for an inclusive definition of stalking and studies using larger, representative samples to better discern potential significant differences in stalking experiences of LGBTQ persons.

‘That's What Being A Woman Is For’: Opposition To Marital Rape Law Reform In Late Twentieth‐Century Australia

From 1976 until 1994, Australian states and territories introduced a raft of reforms to sexual assault laws. Most of these were welcomed, and were seen to reflect women's changing status within a modernising society. One reform, however, was especially contentious. The British law had proclaimed that a woman could not be raped within marriage: the marital bond included a husband's right to sexual access to his wife. Following South Australia's lead, all Australian jurisdictions introduced changes to this law, making it a crime to rape a woman within marriage, either before or after separation. It was a fundamental challenge to the way familial authority was conceptualised, established and policed.In a period where feminism had infiltrated many layers of political and social life, we might expect that this change to the law would have been greeted with relief and even celebration. The response to changes to marital rape laws was, however, both muted and ambivalent. Even feminist groups did not offer unequivocal support, and in general public opinion was at best reserved. Further, many conservative groups understood the new laws as an assault on the sanctity of the family itself.Drawing on a wide range of sources in the mainstream and alternative media, as well as parliamentary debates, government enquiries, academic studies and legal reports, this paper will explore the multifarious responses to legislative change. It uncovers the complex ways sexual violence and female bodily autonomy were understood within and beyond the borders and boundaries of the home and family.

Female chauvinist and male patriarchs: a critical analysis of gender relations in Ama Ata Aidoo’s Changes: A Love Story

This article examines gender relations in Ama Ata Aidoo’s Changes: A Love Story (henceforth Changes). The novel depicts a gender crisis among the educated and career-oriented women working in government offices in Accra. The focus is on women’s education, sexuality, marriage, and marital rape. The three women protagonists, Esi, Opokuya and Fusena, find the institution of marriage challenging and hold the view that it hampers their career development. Esi is highly educated compared to the other female characters. She is a female chauvinist, who feels too powerful to be controlled by a man. She finds herself in the most complicated situation in her marriage, because of her feminist views, which she acquired from Western education. Although she abhors the dominance of men over women, her sexuality naturally brings her into relationships with male patriarchs. Her views about love and marriage are superficial and irreconcilable with the realities of her society. She divorces her first husband because of marital rape and goes into a polygamous marriage, which she also finds unfulfilling. In this article, I argue that Esi’s problems in her first marriage are due to her uncompromising character and her inability to engage her husband in order to strike a balance between family obligations and career goals. In addition, I argue that Esi does not realise her expectations in the second marriage because she emotionally and selfishly goes into it without understanding the rules that govern polygamous marriages.

Sexual Scripts and Criminal Statutes: Gender Restrictions, Spousal Allowances, and Victim Accountability After Rape Law Reform.

The author provides a mixed-methods assessment of U.S. rape statutes to assess progress in reform. Contemporary statutes offer restrictive frameworks for distinguishing criminal from noncriminal sexual violence, many of which are grounded in gendered and heterosexist assumptions. Fourteen states retain gender restrictions in rape statutes. Twenty maintain marital distinctions that limit accountability for spousal rape. Furthermore, whereas explicit resistance requirements have been eliminated nationwide, implicit resistance expectations manifest through emphasis on physical force and involuntary intoxication. Analyses conclude with recommendations for further legal reform and a discussion of the potential for legislation to affect broader social perceptions of rape.

The legal grading of sexual citizenship: sentencing practices in Norwegian rape cases

This article maps and discusses the legal processing of rape cases in Norwegian appellate courts. Drawing on data from a multivariate regression analysis and a qualitative frame analysis, we examine the significance of space, accuser-convict prior relationship, the social context, accuser-convict marital relationship status, and convict racial background for grading of sentences in rape cases. The data-set consists of 176 rape cases that were processed in 2011 and 2012. Excluding acquittals and controlling for the application of relevant legal provisions, we find that sentences are reduced by 30% if the rape occurs in a private space as opposed to a public space. If the rape occurs at a party or is committed by a perpetrator who is a member of a racial majority, we find that sentences are reduced by 20%. A prior relationship between the victim and the perpetrator reduces sentencing by 18%. Results regarding victims of marital rape are inconclusive. The study concludes that sentencing is stratified according to the public/private divide, prior relationship, social context and race. Despite progress made on behalf of victims of domestic violence and a gradual implementation of stricter sentencing in line with legislative intentions, the legal processing of rape cases is permeated by race and gender discrimination.

Factors Associated With College Students’ Responses to Rape-Disclosure Scenarios: Influence of Gender, Rape Characteristics, and Opinions About Health Professionals

ABSTRACTFew studies examine the role of friends in victims’ decisions to seek help from health professionals. This study used a sample of college students (N = 637) to examine the factors that may influence whether students would advise a friend to seek help from health professionals. After providing an open-ended response to a vignette, students answered a series of questions about formal support providers, attitudes toward women and rape victims, and their background. Findings suggest a gender divide on the advice given, and more students who responded to an acquaintance-rape scenario recommended that a victim contact health professionals in comparison to those whose scenario depicted an intimate partner rape. Implications are discussed, focusing on the role of friends and campus policy in minimizing the impacts of victimization.

See the Triumph Healing Arts Workshops for Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence and Sexual Assault

ABSTRACTExisting research demonstrates the potential value of arts-based interventions for survivors of abuse and other forms of trauma. The See the Triumph Healing Arts Workshops were designed to provide survivors of intimate partner violence and sexual assault with an opportunity to express themselves and connect with others through arts-based interventions. When appropriate, using the art developed through the workshops to create an art exhibit can be useful for raising awareness and giving voice to survivors in the local community. The preliminary results of the pilot evaluation suggest that the workshops were well-received and allowed participants to experience emotional expression, connection with others, and greater self-awareness.