The Current State of Spousal Rape
A driver’s license permits one to drive a car, a fishing license allows one to fish in certain bodies of water, and a real estate license authorizes an individual to represent a buyer or seller in the exchange of real estate property. In general, having a license gives the holder certain additional privileges that may have been punishable had the license not been obtained. Yet, this is not always the case, as evident in the results of the 1983 case of People v. Liberta. In an opinion about the case, Judge Sol Wachtler stated, “A marriage license should not be viewed as a license for a husband to forcibly rape his wife with impunity” (Margolick). Spousal rape, that is rape of an individual by his or her spouse, …show more content…
However, this was not always the case. English Common Law, the traditional law of the United States that remained even after gaining independence from England, held that marriage acted as “permeant consent that could not be retracted” (Rothman). Based on such thought, nonconsensual sex could not exist between a husband and wife, even if a woman clearly verbally refused or physically trying to fight off sexual advances from her husband. Such thought dictated law until the late nineteen seventies. In 1979, a man was found not guilty of raping his wife. While lacking a conviction, this case started a conversation about spousal rape; a different man would be convicted later that year of raping his wife (Rothman). By 1983, seventeen states had edited or removed restrictions that had previously prevented prosecuting marital rape (Rothman). All 50 states have outlawed rape of a spouse, but there is still work to be done. At least 23 states have laws in place that make it more difficult for a woman to accuse her husband of rape than it would be had the same crime be committed but no relationship existed between the couple (Paquette). Many states “dole out lighter sentences” in cases of marital rape (Paquette). These regulations send the message that while illegal, spousal rape isn’t as bad as raping a stranger. The United States has come a distance in comparison to earlier English Common Law but work still exists …show more content…
However, it is incorrect to suggest that such journeys should identically resemble each other. People in different areas experience different oppressions, and thus responses to such oppressions should be equally diverse. This concept correlates with transnational feminism which is especially concerned with the ways that historical and societal proceedings including colonialism, globalization, imperialism, and capitalism impact the way individuals of all genders, races, socioeconomic statuses, and sexualities experience gender inequality in different parts of the world. Transnational feminists maintain that women in nations recovering from a history of colonial rule experience gender differently than those in more developed nations, though women occupying the former group are not necessarily reliant on those in the latter for their salvation. In the context of transnational feminism, addressing spousal rape with identical strategies in different countries will not have identically successful results. That is to say that while legal action on the state level was sufficient in the United States, an approach that pays more attention to the cultural backgrounds of citizens may be more effective in India, and a still third approach would be even more successful in
A driver’s license permits one to drive a car, a fishing license allows one to fish in certain bodies of water, and a real estate license authorizes an individual to represent a buyer or seller in the exchange of real estate property. In general, having a license gives the holder certain additional privileges that may have been punishable had the license not been obtained. Yet, this is not always the case, as evident in the results of the 1983 case of People v. Liberta. In an opinion about the case, Judge Sol Wachtler stated, “A marriage license should not be viewed as a license for a husband to forcibly rape his wife with impunity” (Margolick). Spousal rape, that is rape of an individual by his or her spouse, …show more content…
However, this was not always the case. English Common Law, the traditional law of the United States that remained even after gaining independence from England, held that marriage acted as “permeant consent that could not be retracted” (Rothman). Based on such thought, nonconsensual sex could not exist between a husband and wife, even if a woman clearly verbally refused or physically trying to fight off sexual advances from her husband. Such thought dictated law until the late nineteen seventies. In 1979, a man was found not guilty of raping his wife. While lacking a conviction, this case started a conversation about spousal rape; a different man would be convicted later that year of raping his wife (Rothman). By 1983, seventeen states had edited or removed restrictions that had previously prevented prosecuting marital rape (Rothman). All 50 states have outlawed rape of a spouse, but there is still work to be done. At least 23 states have laws in place that make it more difficult for a woman to accuse her husband of rape than it would be had the same crime be committed but no relationship existed between the couple (Paquette). Many states “dole out lighter sentences” in cases of marital rape (Paquette). These regulations send the message that while illegal, spousal rape isn’t as bad as raping a stranger. The United States has come a distance in comparison to earlier English Common Law but work still exists …show more content…
However, it is incorrect to suggest that such journeys should identically resemble each other. People in different areas experience different oppressions, and thus responses to such oppressions should be equally diverse. This concept correlates with transnational feminism which is especially concerned with the ways that historical and societal proceedings including colonialism, globalization, imperialism, and capitalism impact the way individuals of all genders, races, socioeconomic statuses, and sexualities experience gender inequality in different parts of the world. Transnational feminists maintain that women in nations recovering from a history of colonial rule experience gender differently than those in more developed nations, though women occupying the former group are not necessarily reliant on those in the latter for their salvation. In the context of transnational feminism, addressing spousal rape with identical strategies in different countries will not have identically successful results. That is to say that while legal action on the state level was sufficient in the United States, an approach that pays more attention to the cultural backgrounds of citizens may be more effective in India, and a still third approach would be even more successful in