Download Marital Rape in India and more Essays (high school) Sociology in PDF only on Docsity! MARITAL RAPE: IS IT STILL FINE TO NOT STAND UP AGAINST THE IMPUNITY? Marital rape refers to the rape committed by the assailant to whom he/she is married. More than 100 nations in the world recognize and cognizes MARITAL RAPE as a crime, but unfortunately, India is one of those 36 countries where this intimate assault is a legalized crime. According to a report by the National Crime Records Bureau, 70% of women in India are victims of domestic violence. An analysis of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) 2015-16 data indicates that an estimated 99.1 percent of sexual violence cases go unreported. Domestic violence is an ingrained problem in India. Although the Indian legislative system is no weak, it fails to behold a firm action against marital rape. Marital Rape is one such manifestation of domestic violence. It is a general perception that women in India aren’t safe on roads, but according to the same survey by NFHS, women are 17 times more likely to face sexual assault from their husbands than any other person. Indian law system still continues to have a patriarchal outlook that considers married women as the property of their husbands. This outlook has been in practice since the British era, which never recognized women as independent creatures. The Indian law houses fail to understand that marriage should not be viewed as a license to a man to forcibly rape his wife. A married woman should have full rights over her body. WHAT IS THE CURRENT STATUS OF MARITAL RAPE IN INDIA? Section 375 of IPC implies every kind of sexual assault (non-consensual) with a woman as “rape”. However, exception 2 of section 375 IPC exempts any kind of non-consensual sexual intercourse between a husband and a wife over 15 years of age from the definition of rape. NOTE:- In a recent amendment, the classifying age has been pushed to 18 years from 15 years in response to the nationwide protests. As per this law, a woman is ought to have what we call “implied consent” to his husband every time. MARITAL RAPE: AGAINST CONSTITUTIONAL EXCERPTS Defeats the spirit of section 375:- The section was designed to protect women from sexual assault and domestic violence, but its own exception 2 fails to protect married women. Discards Article 21: This section creatively offers the right to privacy, health, and dignity. Marital rape fails to provide all the aforementioned aspects to married women. Doctrine of Coverture:- The non-criminalized state of marital rape emanates from the British era. The British era never recognized women as independent entities. The marital exception in the definition of rape traces down back to the era when Victorian patriarchal
