Marital Rape
FAMILY LAW
INTERNAL ASSESSMENT 1
MARITAL RAPE
HISTORY
Rape is defined as any act of sexual intercourse which a person is compelled to take part in under duress or through the application of physical force. Rape is derived from the ancient word ‘Raptus’ which implied theft, either of property or possession.
The question here is, how did it to come to apply to this horrific crime?
The answer is simple. In the minds of the bigoted population, rape was nothing more than a theft of their reputation. It was another man wrongfully attempting to take what was their possession, their property without their consent. Keeping in mind that women were considered little more than chattel, this definition took rape to be a crime against the husband or the father.
Marital rape is non-consensual sex where the perpetrator is the victim’s spouse or an ex-spouse. Applying the above analysis to the definition of marital rape brings us to the conclusion, is it even rape? Certainly our ancestors wouldn’t have thought so. Because why would a man need consent from his own property? Women were little more than wholly owned subsidiaries, who were expected to supply sex at any time, as a part of their ‘marital duty’.
Then the feminist movement came, which gave rise to the concept of rape being a crime against the woman. It refuted and ridiculed the idea of rape being a crime against anyone but the victim. Although this movement was successful in raising awareness and bringing changes in the legal and societal outlook on rape, it failed to do so in the case of marital rape, which remains either condoned or ignored by many legal systems. The reasons for this have been explained in the next section.
FACTORS- LEGAL AND SOCIETAL
SOCIETAL-
Conventionally, women were considered the legal equivalent of a minor, who needed their guardians to ratify their every act and be responsible for them. They belonged first to their fathers and then to their husbands.
Being
INTERNAL ASSESSMENT 1
MARITAL RAPE
HISTORY
Rape is defined as any act of sexual intercourse which a person is compelled to take part in under duress or through the application of physical force. Rape is derived from the ancient word ‘Raptus’ which implied theft, either of property or possession.
The question here is, how did it to come to apply to this horrific crime?
The answer is simple. In the minds of the bigoted population, rape was nothing more than a theft of their reputation. It was another man wrongfully attempting to take what was their possession, their property without their consent. Keeping in mind that women were considered little more than chattel, this definition took rape to be a crime against the husband or the father.
Marital rape is non-consensual sex where the perpetrator is the victim’s spouse or an ex-spouse. Applying the above analysis to the definition of marital rape brings us to the conclusion, is it even rape? Certainly our ancestors wouldn’t have thought so. Because why would a man need consent from his own property? Women were little more than wholly owned subsidiaries, who were expected to supply sex at any time, as a part of their ‘marital duty’.
Then the feminist movement came, which gave rise to the concept of rape being a crime against the woman. It refuted and ridiculed the idea of rape being a crime against anyone but the victim. Although this movement was successful in raising awareness and bringing changes in the legal and societal outlook on rape, it failed to do so in the case of marital rape, which remains either condoned or ignored by many legal systems. The reasons for this have been explained in the next section.
FACTORS- LEGAL AND SOCIETAL
SOCIETAL-
Conventionally, women were considered the legal equivalent of a minor, who needed their guardians to ratify their every act and be responsible for them. They belonged first to their fathers and then to their husbands.
Being