Marital Rape Essay

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Recommended: Effects of rape on individuals

The topic of marital rape, is an arduous topic due to the fact that it is a detestable act of ascendancy committed by a companion. Rape, in itself, is defined as the unlawful compelling of a person through physical force or duress to have sexual intercourse; it is deemed to be an act of possession and control versus an act of fulfilment from the individual consenting the action. So many times we hear of rape cases committed by complete strangers, or even by a trusted individual. Many people tend to think that rape happens to everyone, but according to studies women suffer more as victims that men do. In this paper, we will discuss how rape is not a crime of sex, but a crime of sexism, and how our patriarchal culture system leads to the acceptance of rape in marriage. Marital rape is a form of intimate partner violence, an abuse of power by which one spouse attempts to establish dominance and control over the other. Because of the attackers own insecurities, rape can control the other person's state of mind by instilling fear into the individual, leading to a number of psychological problems such as depression, fear, anxiety, and concerns with sexual orientation. As described by a few marital rape victims, other main issues caused by marital rape include: longer recovery from trauma, higher likelihood of repeated assaults, pressure to stay with perpetrator, negative effects on children in the household, and difficulty identifying what happened as a crime. According to statistics, 90% of rape victims are female, and over 98% of rapists are male. Because of our patriarchal society, the majority of all rapes happen to women. A patriarchal society is a predominantly male based society, meaning that men are deemed to be more superior t... ... middle of paper ... ...e his wife, women have a difficult time accepting it as rape. Instead, many make excuses to how it’s nothing more than a miscommunication from both partners. Many may even see it as an act for which the man is not fully responsible due to his nature and biological need for sex. It is the woman’s mindset that it is her responsibility to give him what he desires; sometimes, people even have religious issues to refuse intercourse and fully submit themselves to their husband, unwillingly but done to please God’s will. Basically, women as wives always find an excuse to marital rape because no one understands why it should ever happen. But when women do accept that the fact that marital rape is happening, they are so hurt that they can no longer trust him, turn to him for comfort, gain reassurance and protection from him, or feel safe at home. It destroys them completely.

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