Marital Rape: A Non-Criminalized Crime in Several Countries

By Anna Levy

The prevalence of female activists fighting for equal rights in the past decade as well as events like the Women’s March exemplify the power and determination of women nationwide fighting for change. While the concept of a powerful woman seems logical and deserved in today’s day and age, women have not always been granted autonomy and power; in fact, there are still many countries that consider women as the property of their husbands. As such, marital rape is still a major global issue that jeopardizes the health and safety of women. This may seem like a shock to some but, in many countries in the Middle East and Asia, women are still not granted basic human autonomy, and over 600 million women live in countries that legalize domestic violence. Even in the United States, around 10-14% of all married women report being maritally raped by their partners, despite the nation’s laws and restrictions. It is no secret that each and every country has a ways to go to ensure gender equality for all people, but we must also direct our attention to the millions of women who are suffering at the hands of their partners each and every day.

In 1979, the United Nations addressed the necessity of further legislation to protect the rights of women and end female oppression and established the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAQ), also known as “the international women’s bill of rights.” This treaty, upon signage, represented a promise to promote equality in all aspects of society, including employment, education, and representation. In theory, CEDAW established a set of guidelines to protect women from issues like domestic violence; in reality, this treaty often served as a superficial display of equality, and never truly ended gender equality in its participating countries. Moreover, seven countries refused to ratify this document--one of which was the United States of America.

In 1986, the United States Federal Sexual Abuse Act criminalized marital rape in all US territory. By the year 1993, marital rape was technically illegal in the government mandates of all 50 US states. However, loopholes in the system kept emerging in subsequent years revealing weaknesses in the conviction of marital rape by the US and state governments. Part of this issue stems from the normalized definition of “rape,” through which people often categorizes certain forms of rape and sexual assault as “more” or “less” substantial than others. By ruling some rape as more “real” than others, we as a society are invalidating the abuse of men and women throughout the world and actually making it more difficult for some rape to be criminalized. Additionally, stigmatization of rape and rape victims in the United States makes it difficult for many marital rape victims to report their abuse, for fear of not being validated or believed in their acusations. National phenomenon like the “Me Too” movement as well as the increased repeal of sexual assault exemptions in state sexual assault codes help to make strides in the fight against marital rape, but there are still major social and political factors that stand in the way of ending marital rape in its entirety.

While sexual assault and rape is still a major issue in the United States, the issue is even further from resolution in many countries, especially those in which child marriage and genital mutilation are also legal factors. In some of these countries, marital rape is not only prevalent but also non-criminalized, resulting in unacknowledged subjugation and abuse of women on a monumental scale. Countries in which it is legal to rape your spouse include Ghana, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Singapore, as well as five others. The allowance of marital rape often results in other forms of abuse and assault, as they are often viewed as less important and even more permissible. Similarly, many women find themselves trapped in dangerous domestic environments due to the leniency of the law, and it becomes even harder to convict a husband of abuse when there are a series of laws in place that protect them.In India, one out of every three men admits to forcing his wife into sexual acts, and women have reported apauling and grotesque stories of sexual abuse from their husbands with no prosecution. When the rapist has more protection under the law than the raped, there are clearly major problems in the structure of that government.

As long as women--or spouses in general-- are experiencing fear and abuse in their own homes without protection from the law, then we are eons away from reducing inequalities and establishing the general well-being of all people. America is often viewed as the land of opportunity and freedom--yet, the abuse and stigmatization happening behind closed doors reveals flaws in the American system, as many cases of marital rape are left unconvicted due to legal technicalities and fear of judgement from the victims. In other countries where marital rape is still legal, we have even larger governmental issues to address relating to equality and the protection of human rights.

Sources:

• https://www.revelist.com/world/countries-marital-rape-legal/7073

• https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/un-women-marital-rape-laws/

• https://equalmeansequal.com/international-womens-rights/

• https://www.cnn.com/2015/03/05/asia/gallery/marital-rape/index.html

• https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/slideshows/10-worst-countries-for-gender-

• equality-ranked-by-perception

• https://www.ncjrs.gov/App/publications/abstract.aspx?ID=201457