Marital Rape by Sampada Sharma

Marital Rape ABSTRACT Rape has always been seen as a very heinous crime in any society. Non-consensual or forced sex is called rape. But when it comes to rape in a marriage we tend to be inconspicuous about it. Women have been given rights to protect themselves, but it is ghastly to see her husband, whom she married with full trust, tries to hurt and torture her by having forceful sex without her consent and that eventually own spoils her wellbeing. There is no justification or applicability of the notion of all the marital exemption in the current times. This paper discusses the identification of marital rape as different from Rape, why and how it occurs, the mind of a rapist, and comparative studies between two different countries have been analyzed. INTRODUCTION Women have been seen as the second class citizen in the society. The men in the society are seen as superiors and women the subordinates. It is highly perceived that a woman is supposed to look after a man’s need keeping her wishes and desires aside. In India religiously believed “pati parmeshwer” meaning “husband is a god” is deeply incarcerated in the minds and that leads to the women in the society to go to any lengths to please their husbands, as not doing so is seen as defying god. Especially sex in a marriage is seen as a duty by the women. This thinking in the female section of the society often leads to a term that is ‘Marital Rape’ force full sex in a marriage, against the will of the wife. Marital rape is the most common and repugnant form of masochism in Indian society, it is hidden under the iron curtains of marriage. Social practices and legal code in India collectively enforce the denial of women’s sexual agency and bodily virtues, which lie within the heart of women’s human rights. Rape is rape. Be it rape by a stranger, a rape by date or marital rape. A lot of women, as they see sex as a duty do not even know that they are being raped in the name of marriage duties. Unfortunately in India marital rape is not seen as a crime. Even if it is, the penalty remains lost in legal vacillation. The legal system must be forced to accept rape within a marriage as a crime. Further women themselves must break free from the shackles of society and fight for justice and their rights. They must refuse to comply with the standards applied to them that they are the weaker sex. The idea of the “sacrosanct” institution of marriage dished out by the mainstream India cinema is a myth and is contrary to women’s perception of reality. FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS MARITAL RAPE-AN EXCEPTION TO RAPE Section 370 of the Indian penal code defines rape as unlawful sexual intercourse between a man and a woman without the consent of the woman or that is against her will under any circumstances enumerated under the section will amount to rape. But there is an exception to it. “Sexual intercourse by a man with his wife, the wife not being under fifteen years of age, is not rape”- according to IPC 1860,as amended by the criminal law(amendment) act no.13 of 2013. Now the fact that arises here is that the Indian law system does identify marital rape it is aware of the existence of marital rape but does not give protection to all women. Women are being devoid of their human rights. Not criminalizing marital rape as rape and stating an exception has given a ticket to men that it is ok to rape your wife. Every six hours a young woman is being beaten and commits suicide due to consistent emotional abuse from her husband. TYPES OF MARITAL RAPES BATTERING RAPE: in this type, the women experiences both sexual as well as physical violence in the relationship in various ways. Some are battered during the sexual violence, or later it may be followed by a violent episode. Most of the women fall in this category. FORCE ONLY RAPE: in this type the husband may use only force to get to his wife. This is generally after the wife has refused for sexual intercourse. OBSESSIVE RAPE: in this type, the assault comprises of torture. In this, the sexual acts are violent in nature. The sadistic character is shown by the man. PERCEPTION OF MARITAL RAPE According to the practice of role allocation in the society under the stratification of male and females; men are taught to be dominant, powerful and sexually aggressive while women are taught to be passive, submissive and sexual sentinels. Within that context, marital rape is an extreme form of sex-role socialization rising from the concept of ‘wifely duties’-the belief that a wife has to look after her husband’s demands and always do whatever he demands to please him. Social constructionism is a term applied to theories that support that the world and its tenets are socially created by society rather than just given or existing. Men generally have a desire to retain power in society-for example political power, to protect themselves and their property. Throughout history, we can see men have always been dominating the law-making process and that has lead to a flaw that shows their interest in the protection of property. In the light of property, married women are also seen as property owned by the man. Hence, justifying that why married men are not seen as rapist and not held criminally responsible for raping their wives. FEMINIST PERCEPTION OF MARITAL RAPE The feminist movements have also stated that the perpetuation of marital rape is a means of dominance and social control over women through the use of patriarchal families. These movements have explained marriage as ‘patriarchal terrorism’ and ‘license to rape’ to refer to social control by men over women. The term ‘license to rape’ refers to the establishment of male dominance and control over their wives through forced sex without the fear of repercussions of such acts. PSYHCOLOGIAL EFFECT ON WOMEN According to a study on marital rape effects and causes, it has been found that women who have been sexually assaulted by their partners experience severe psychological consequences. Some of the short term effects are anxiety, shock, intense fear, clinical depression, suicidal thoughts and post traumatic stress. The long term effects include problem in establishing trust in relationships, sleeping disorders, eating disorders, depression and an increase in negative thoughts and feelings about themselves. Some of the victims of marital rape experience sexual dysfunction, and emotional pain for year’s cause of this violence. COMPARITIVE STUDY BETWEEN INDIA AND USA According to a report from the United Nation population fund, 2/3rd married women in India who are between the age of fifteen and fifty have been beaten, raped or forced to provide sex by him. I the year 2005 nearly more than 6500 cases were recorded where women were murdered by their husbands or the families of their husbands. MARITAL RAPE IN US The study conducted by the United Nations secretary-general in the year 2006 studied in depth all forms of violence again women and marital rape were one of them. The report stated that in all 53 states marital rape was not considered to be an offence. But now rape in United Nations is criminalized. In many countries laws towards marital rape are ambiguous and they do not know if the person can be prosecuted for marital rape or not. MARITAL RAPE IN INDIA When looked into the judicial aspects of India it clearly states that “ sexual intercourse by a man with his wife, the wife not being under 15 years of age, is not rape” under the section 375 of the Indian Penal Code. In Saretha V. T. Vanuatu Subbaih case, it was held that rights and duties in a marriage, is like creation and dissolution and not the term of private contract between two individuals. The right to privacy is not lost by marital Association. Hence there is no punishment and the solution lies with the wife herself. CONCLUSION In conclusion, we can see that marital rape is not a personal but a social cause as looking upon from the earlier history. But with the changing times, people are getting aware on this topic. Talking about changing the law, it is a sensitive task. Moreover in a country like India where there are so many diverse cultures, beliefs and practices it is a difficult task. We can see that the Indian laws have failed to protect the women in full terms as the women are still seen as the second class citizens and treated as property of husband and hence, providing the husbands with the tools of exploitation. No remedies have been provided for the women and the acts of the husband cannot be questioned. Married women should take care of themselves and should not be subject to these encounters.