Marital Rape: Nowadays, we see many stories about marital rape making headlines. Do you know that there are some countries that have declared this case of marital problem ‘illegal’? Well, there have been talks of outlawing this situation in India as well, but recently, the government called it an ‘excessively harsh’ decision to illegalise marital rape. This caused a stir among the citizens. Let’s take a look at what’s marital rape and why the government is refusing to criminalise it.
What is Marital Rape?
Marital Rape is a situation when one’s spouse forces his/her partner to have sexual intercourse without his/her permission. It refers to a kind of sexual intercourse when one of the partners in a marriage hasn’t given their consent for the sexual activity. Marital rape is considered a form of Domestic Violence. It is also regarded as sexual abuse. Around 100 countries in the world have criminalised this problem and banned it completely. Britain is also a part of these 100 countries, they have outlawed it way back in 1991. In India, people are demanding to make it illegal. They say that any kind of forced sexual activity is rape. In 2022, the government said, “issue needs wider consultations.”
What Did the Government Say?
On Thursday, the centre presented its views in regards to the marital rape. Their affidavit called criminalising this sexual activity, “excessively harsh and disproportionate.” Their complete statement was, “It is submitted that a husband certainly does not have any fundamental right to violate the consent of the wife, however, attracting the crime in the nature “rape” as recognised in India to the institution of marriage can be arguably considered to be excessively harsh and therefore, disproportionate. This Hon’ble Court has further adopted a balancing approach in order to reconcile in the perceivable engagement between fundamental rights.”
The Ministry of Home Affairs has submitted a 49-page affidavit to the Supreme Court. The government agreed that the marital rape should be illegal and criminalised but with different penalties than the rape cases outside a marriage.
The affidavit said, “It is submitted that the act colloquially referred to as ‘marital rape’ ought to be illegal and criminalised. The Central Government asserts that a woman’s consent is not obliterated by marriage, and its violation should result in penal consequences. However, the consequences of such violations within marriage differ from those outside it. Parliament has provided different remedies, including criminal law provisions, to protect consent within marriage. Sections 354, 354A, 354B, 498A IPC, and the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, ensure serious penal consequences for such violations.”
What do you think about the government’s take?
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