MARITAL RAPE IN INDIA
INTRODUCTION
Marital Rape refers to unwanted intercourse by a man with his wife obtained by force, threat of force, or physical violence, or when she is unable to give consent. Marital rape could be by the use of force only, a battering rape or a sadistic/obsessive rape. It is a non-consensual act of violent perversion by a husband against the wife where she is physically and sexually abused. The United Nations Population Fund estimates that more than two-thirds of married women in India (aged between 15-50 years) have been beaten, raped or forced to provide sex. However, even though the crime is serious and prevalent, the Indian Penal Code still does not recognize sexual molestation by husbands against their wives criminal. …show more content…
The plaintiff had accused her husband for allegedly forcing her into 'unnatural sex' after consuming alcohol, even when she was pregnant. The court noted that it was not an isolated incident and that the victim had lodged complaints in the past as well. The court ruled in favour of the victim when it directed the authorities to deal with the survivor of marital abuse as a rape victim, and slammed the police for its casual handling of the …show more content…
THE UNION OF INDIA
In 2005, Sakshi, an NGO focused upon issues of women’s rights, filed a petition in the Supreme Court of India challenging the definition of ‘rape’ in the Indian Penal Code. The claim was to expand the definition to include all forms of forcible penetration, as opposed to the current interpretation of the law, which is limited to forcible penile/vaginal penetration only. The plaintiff claimed that the current interpretation of the law violated the spirit of the Indian Constitution and amounts to discrimination against women as a whole. The plaintiff submitted that the laws and procedures in the Indian Penal Code must be interpreted in the current scenario and the problems of the present day should be the basis for purposive intervention- especially in light of the fact that cases of child abuse have been on the rise as well. The Court, however, decided to uphold the existing definition of rape, and refused to include other forms of penetration within the ambit of rape as defined under the Indian Penal Code Section
INTRODUCTION
Marital Rape refers to unwanted intercourse by a man with his wife obtained by force, threat of force, or physical violence, or when she is unable to give consent. Marital rape could be by the use of force only, a battering rape or a sadistic/obsessive rape. It is a non-consensual act of violent perversion by a husband against the wife where she is physically and sexually abused. The United Nations Population Fund estimates that more than two-thirds of married women in India (aged between 15-50 years) have been beaten, raped or forced to provide sex. However, even though the crime is serious and prevalent, the Indian Penal Code still does not recognize sexual molestation by husbands against their wives criminal. …show more content…
The plaintiff had accused her husband for allegedly forcing her into 'unnatural sex' after consuming alcohol, even when she was pregnant. The court noted that it was not an isolated incident and that the victim had lodged complaints in the past as well. The court ruled in favour of the victim when it directed the authorities to deal with the survivor of marital abuse as a rape victim, and slammed the police for its casual handling of the …show more content…
THE UNION OF INDIA
In 2005, Sakshi, an NGO focused upon issues of women’s rights, filed a petition in the Supreme Court of India challenging the definition of ‘rape’ in the Indian Penal Code. The claim was to expand the definition to include all forms of forcible penetration, as opposed to the current interpretation of the law, which is limited to forcible penile/vaginal penetration only. The plaintiff claimed that the current interpretation of the law violated the spirit of the Indian Constitution and amounts to discrimination against women as a whole. The plaintiff submitted that the laws and procedures in the Indian Penal Code must be interpreted in the current scenario and the problems of the present day should be the basis for purposive intervention- especially in light of the fact that cases of child abuse have been on the rise as well. The Court, however, decided to uphold the existing definition of rape, and refused to include other forms of penetration within the ambit of rape as defined under the Indian Penal Code Section