The Dark Shadow of Marital Rape: Need to Change the Narrative

Abstract

Marriage is an anthropological, cultural, and legal institution, that establishes socially sanctioned rights and obligations between individuals. In many cultures, marriage forms the basis for acknowledgement of sexual relationships. However, sexual violence and physical aggression within marriages have traditionally formed a grey legal area. Marital rape refers to “forcible sexual assault or violence by one spouse towards the other.”1 In other words, it’s the act of sexual intercourse with a spouse without his/her spouse’s consent. Though historically establishing sexual relationship between the married couple was considered as a “right” in many societies, the context of consent becomes equally important as among nonmarried individuals. Twentieth century onward, there has been growing international conventions and voices against sexual and intimate partner violence in marriages (more specifically for sexual violence against women).2 However, in spite of the known devastating consequences of any form of forcible sexual encounter, marital rape has remained under the shadow of legal ambiguity in many nations, outside the criminal law and widely tolerated. Marital rape is mostly, but not exclusively, experienced by women. It tends to form a vicious cycle of abusive relationships between the couple, perpetuating chronic violence. This also varies based on sociocultural and political ideologies. For example, the interpretations of the institution of marriage, traditional ways of viewing male and female sexuality, and cultural expectations of relationship dynamics among the husband-wife dyad have led to concerning reluctance of classifying nonconsensual marital sex as a punishable crime. These doctrines started getting challenged in the West between 1960s and 1970s during the “second wave feminism” that focused on gender respect, autonomy, and right to self-determination (concerning all matters of a women’s own physical self and identity).2 However, marital rape has been overlooked in literature and policies throughout centuries and “marriage” being used as a common exemption/defense in sexual assault cases. This has also led to invalidation of the experiences of marital rape survivors, reduced help-seeking, and persistent trauma.