Introduction
Basic definition of Rape says that is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration against a person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority
Marital rape in United States law, also known as spousal rape, is non-consensual sex in which the accused is the victim's spouse. It is a form of partner rape, of domestic violence, and of sexual abuse. Today, marital rape is illegal in all 50 US states.
Types of marital rape-
1. Battering rape-women experiences both physical as well as sexual violence in relationship in various ways.
2. Force-only rape-husband only uses that amount of force necessary to coerce the wife
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The law commission, while making its 172nd report on 'Review of Rape Laws' in March 2000, did not recommend criminalization of marital rape.
Justice J.S. verma committee-marital rape shall be criminalized, marriage should not be considered as an irreparable consent to sexual acts.
Basic definition of rape- it is not only the sex which is involved in rape rather breach of basic human right and mental trauma which constitutes a rape.
The question over here arises Does a women loses basic human rights after marriage
Marital rapes should be considered as a crime and the punishments should be given accordingly. This becomes effective by the fact that where a husband causes some physical injury to his wife, he is punishable under the appropriate offence as per the provisions made under ‘Domestic Violence Act’ and the fact that he is the husband of the victim is not an extenuating circumstance recognized by law; if so, there is no reason why concession should be made in the matter of offence of rape/sexual assault where the wife happens to be above 16 years.
In India cruelty is a ground for divorce but marital rape is not
Stats-Around 90% of rapes in India are unrecorded rapes in which marital rape has a big share.
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• The traditional view of wives as the property of the husbands with which they could do as they want under common law, and
• The public interest in promoting privacy and harmony in marital relationships, which discouraged the state from getting inside the relationships.
• The marital rape exemption became more widely viewed as inconsistent with the developing concepts of human rights and equality. Feminists have worked systematically since the 1960s to remove the marital rape exemption and criminalize marital rape. Increasing criminalization of spousal rape is a part of a worldwide reclassification of sexual crimes "from the offenses against morality, the family, good customs, honor, or chastity ... to offenses against the liberty, self-determination, or physical integrity." In December 1993, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights published the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women. This says marital rape as a human rights
In conclusion, Rape Shield laws are in place to protect the victims, sometimes it works and at other times the victim can be ridiculed and their past can be advertised, due to many holes and ways around the
Rape is a physical attack, not sex. Rape crisis counselors and researchers define rape as an act of violence in which sex is used as a weapon (Benedict 2). A woman is raped in this country every two minutes. Between 1996 &1999 7,787,00 rapes were reported. The actual number is much, much higher because only 26% of rapes are reported. Husbands or boyfriends assaulted 28% of these women, 35% of these women were raped by people they knew; 1 in 4 of these rapes took place in a public place (Grady 4). Rape is a problem that infiltrates all countries and cultures; a Muslim woman who has been raped is disowned by her fiancé and her family for having brought them shame by becoming dirtied and thus not a candidate for marriage (Benedict 2).
Rape Shield Laws Facing with much criticism from women’s group with the legal definitions of rape and how rape cases are being processed in the legal system, the government is forced to pass a Rape Law reform in the 1970s. Rape law reform urging courts to treat rape case the same as other crimes, rape law reforms modified traditional rape laws and ratified evidentiary reforms in every state in the United States. The most common and widespread changes occurred in three areas. First, rape was redefined so that there was no longer a single crime of rape.
Eileraas, Karina. "Rape, Legal Definitions of." Encyclopedia of Women in Today's World. Ed. Mary Zeiss Stange, Carol K. Oyster, and Jane E. Sloan. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, 2011. 1205-09. SAGE Reference Online. Web. 4 Apr. 2012.
When people think about rape, they usually think of a stranger with a knife hiding in the bushes. He waits for a woman to walk by and then attacks. But that is not the only kind of rape. The majority of victims are raped by individuals they know or acquaintances. This rape is known as “acquaintance rape” or “date rape.” Eighty percent of all rapes are, in fact, acquaintance rapes. This kind of rape happens when a man and a woman go out on a date together. The man forces the woman to have sex with him when she does not want to. Also called simple rape, which differs from real rape, because real rape involves weapons, violence and attackers. This kind of rape is recognized as rape in courtrooms, where simple rape is dismissed as not real rape and it is more common that the offender will be found not guilty.
Feminism is motivated by the need to establish equality between the genders since most feminists attribute women’s problems to inequality between the two genders. Therefore, by way of a collection of political movements and social theories, feminists seek to curb this inequality between men and women. It is important to note that the equality sought after by feminists is not just economic and political, but also social equality. According to Heather Gilmour, The institution of marriage during the pre-modern era or the Victorian era was based on inequality as the roles to be fulfilled by both genders for the success of the marriage were essentially different (Heather 26). As the roles kept changing over time due to different circumstances, so did the expectations of marriage and along with that, the rise of feminist movement. Screwball comedies such as It...
Rape until 2012 was defined as “The carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will.” It was severely lacking was only updated by the Federal Bureau of Instigation in 2012. It left out an entire section of rape that can be committed which is man being the rape victim. This lead to misclassification of rape of males for years. So even the statistics used till 2014 were underwhelming and inaccurate when it was related to male rape or sexual assault. Rape in the United States is now defined by the Department of Justice as “Penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim.” Male Rape or men being the sexual assault victims are rarely ever the subject of a dialogue when Sexual Assault is the topic being discussed because rape is generally seen as a heterosexual highly sexed male attack on vulnerable, attractively dressed female victim. Most rapists have alternative outlets for sexual gratification, many take little notice of their victim 's physical attributes, and some may experience sexual dysfunction during the assault.
In general, rape means force or threatening to use force to a potential victim. It includes vaginal but doesn’t exclude other forms such as, anal and oral penetration. Rape tends to get grouped with women but, there are also men who get victimized as well. It’s not limited to heterosexuals either there’s also homosexual offenders (“Sexual Assault”). It is very common and it usually goes unsolved (Triffin). Here is a cause and three effects that helps prove this is an important issue.
What is sexual assault? Sexual assault is, “any type of sexual contact or behavior that occurs without the explicit consent of the recipient. Falling under the definition of sexual assault are sexual activities as forced sexual intercourse, forcible sodomy, child molestation, incest, fondling, and attempted rape” (Sexual Assault).
The victim then stated that the wife kept phoning and pestering him and said: “So when I went to her room, she undressed herself in front of me and forced me to have sex.” and when the husband of the wife found out about it he sued both of them. Later on, the husband’s bestfriend amitted having sexual relationship with the wife. Can this still be validated as ‘marital rape’ ? Can a man be aroused against his will ?
Rape is one of the most intimate crimes in the world. According to nolo.com legal encyclopedia rape in nonconsensual sexual intercourse that is forced upon someone that is not wanted. Statutory rape is when a person disregards the under 18 consent law and forcefully has sex with them. According to ular.edu there are many different types of rape such as anger, power, sadistic, stranger, acquaintance, and martial rapes. These different groups show that rape can happen to anyone at any time.
Sexual assault is a term that is used interchangeably with the word rape. The decision on whether or not to use the term rape or sexual assault is made by a state’s jurisdiction. Sexual assault is more readily used in an attempt to be more gender neutral (National Victim Center). Sexual assault can be most easily described as forced or unconsentual sexual intercourse. The individual that is performing these acts on the victim may either be a stranger or an acquaintance. In 1994, 64.2 percent of all rapes were committed by someone the offender had previously known (Ringel, 1997). Regardless, this type of crime can have extreme effects on the victim.
Marital rape is the act of forced sex with one’s wife without her consent. It is considered as a form of sexual abuse and domestic violence. Although till the recent past, sexual intercourse within married couples was considered a fundamental right of the either party, however engaging in the act of sexual intercourse without the wife’s or spouse’s consent is now considered unlawful and criminal. Marital Rape is now recognized criminal by many societies and governments around the world, rejected by international social organizations and has been increasingly criminalized. The growing cases of domestic violence and sexual abuse within marriage and the in the family have attracted public attention globally.
Marital rape is unwanted sexual intercourse performed by a spouse. Often time’s marital rape is a more than one time occurrence. Marital rape is associated with abuse; it can often involve physical abuse and emotional abuse between husband and wife. Marital rape can be just as violent as stranger rape.
Rape is a taboo subject and is known across the globe as an unacceptable, yet why is so prevalent in India? As individuals we know that rape is a horrendous act that causes a lot of trauma for the victim. Rape in India is an example of a social system in which men feel that they need to be dominant, despite changes in society‘s attitudes towards women. Every 20 minutes a woman in India is raped (Feingold, pg.1). The high rates of rape to Indian women lead activist groups like Maitree to come in and fight for the government to take action on forced sexual assault. The government does not have adequate laws and system, the police men and politicians are corrupted and Indian men feel entitled to rape women, so it is left to the activist groups, to take a stance against rape.