UNVEILING THE VEIL OF SILENCE: MARITAL RAPE
A SCARED CRIME
1. INTRODUCTION
Marital rape is a very unspoken topic as marriage is considered to be a holy institution in India and anything happening behind the curtains of marriage is not likely to be spoken about as its between the husband and his wife. Rape defined in the Indian penal code, is a serious violation of human rights. Rape means consensual intercourse between a man and a woman, where the woman is forced or threatened and its against her will. Marital rape means the same except its rape under the heteronormative framework of marriage. Rape is considered horrific but marital rape is not constituted as rape by many Indians. The ideology of people is that a man is free to do anything with his wife, as its his woman, and society is not allowed to interfere in the business happening within the four walls of a house. But because of the forward socialists and feminists, this is becoming a concern spoken out loud.
2. OBJECTIVE
This research has aimed to bring to light the profound implications of marital rape, emphasizing its legal complexities, prevalence, and the devastating impact on survivors.
A. LEGAL FRAMEWORK
Marital rape was once a muted topic as people constituted it as a sacred marriage issue that should not be out for public or to be discussed in courts but now as the feminist movements and activists talk more about it many women have come out of their cocoon to fight for their rights. Rape is considered a crime under section 375 of the Indian Penal Code,1860 (hereafter Act), and is a punishable offense. However, many jurisdictions do not constitute marital rape as a crime. Despite progress in recognizing various forms of gender-based violence, legal frameworks around the world exhibit significant disparities in addressing marital rape. This lack of uniformity highlights the need for a more unified legal structure that acknowledges this crime and its grievousness and ensures that the rights of each individual in a marriage are protected. As per the act, rape can only be committed by a man and not by a woman and the section gives various scenarios where it would be rape like without her consent or on misrepresentation for consent but the exception to the section is- Sexual intercourse by a man with his wife, the wife not being under fifteen years of age, is not rape. [1] However, in 2017, the Supreme Court inindependent thought v. Union of India [2]and in 2022 the High Court inRIT Foundation v. Union of India [3]held that the part of Exception 2 to section 375 which excused marital rape of minors between the ages of 15-18, was unconstitutional, which means that the term 15 years in the exception now needs to be read as 18 years. Currently, there are no criminal penalties for marital rape when a wife is over 18 years old. The absence of criminal penalties for marital rape when the wife is over 18 underscores a crucial loophole. The judicial system fails to give women their deserving rights and dignity.
B. PREVALENCE AND STATISTICS OF MARITAL RAPE
Marital rape is a hidden issue because of the societal stigma so not many come forward and fight for their rights because women, especially Indian women are bound by marital obligations and believe their husband to be their god, and who would want to fight against her god. This makes it extremely difficult to find accurate data on marital rape in India or even globally. It has been noted that marital rape accounts for about 25% of all rapes and 1014% of married women experience marital rape. [4] The absence of legal protection against marital rape is an urgent womens rights concern for India, given that estimates from the third (2005-06) and fourth (2015-16) rounds of theNational Family Health Survey (NFHS) revealed that the prevalence percentage of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) against women ranges between 3% to 43% in different states of the country. The 5th round of the survey, held in 2019-20 and conducted in about 637,000 sample households in 707 districts of 28 states and eight union territories, suggests that1 in 3 women aged 18-49 in India experience spousal violence, with at least 5%-6% of the women reporting sexual violence. [5] Looking at these statistics, there is a need to have more reforms and groups supporting women and empowering them to be vocal about any injustice happening to them and the law should support and make provisions to make the life of women easier in this male-dominated world.
C. IMPACT ON SURVIVORS
Rape as it is a critical and sensitive matter and the victims are terribly disturbed but marital rape also has a significant impact on women as they are raped by their husbands in their own house. Omen experience post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression higher levels of anger, fear, and guilt, and begin to hate their bodies, therefore causing their self-esteem to drop. It being an overlooked crime, it also overlooks the effect on the victims. The suffering of a woman in marital rape can be for a longer period as she must be going through this rape in different forms for a very long time within her marriage. She can be battered which is physical and sexual violence against the women. Or just forced by the husband. Many times she must be talking about this to her family but this topic being taboo she is often asked to keep quiet as after all he is her husband. This has a tremendous effect on ones mind as she has been suffering from the assault for a long time slowly every day being worse than before. Women were treated as an object or property of men hence until now, there were not many reforms against this violence. According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV), marital rape is four times more common than stranger rape, yet there is not much awareness about it. [6] women are told to excuse the behaviour of the husband as he must be suffering from work stress and this mentality of the society makes it difficult for women to be bold and confront and for them to heal from this pain. Marital rape leaves an indelible mark on survivors, causing not only physical harm but also severe mental and emotional distress.
3. CONCLUSION
In the shadow of India's revered institution of marriage, the silent suffering of women at the hands of marital rape persists, shrouded in cultural norms and societal expectations. Overall women who experience domestic violence are likely to experience marital rape. this harms their body and mental health. This halts their cognitive development and hampers their foundational understanding of trust and love. Women often start to self-blame themselves and are constantly in the race to be better for their husbands. Because of lack of support, this leads to a lack of cases being reported and few women getting freed from the chains of violence in the house. Marital rape remains a hidden issue, with societal stigma and cultural obligations often silencing survivors. The aftermath of such a traumatic incident can prove to be fatal for many women. Society must recognize the gravity of this crime, dismantle stigmas, and provide support mechanisms for survivors to heal and rebuild their lives. The time has come to break the censored truth of marital rape confront the issue and support the victims and try to change the perspective of the society.
4. REFERENCES
[1] The Indian Penal Code (Chapter XVI of 1890), s. 375.
[2]10 SCC 800, AIR 2017 SC 4904.
[3] W.P.(C) 284/2015 CM Nos.54525-26/2018.
[4] Prevalence, determinants and coercive strategies relating to marital rape among women in Oyo State, Nigeria, available at:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10336465/#R13(last visited on December 3, 2023).
[5] A Ruling On Marital Rape In India Is Coming Up. Heres Why You Should Be Watching Closely, available at:https://www.equalitynow.org/news_and_insights/a-ruling-on-marital-rape-in-india-is-coming-up-heres-why-you-should-be-watching-closely/#:~:text=The%205th%20round%20of%20the,the%20women%20reporting%20sexual%20violence (last visited December 2, 2023).
[6]The Effects of Marital Rape on a Womans Mental Health, available at:https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1117context=themis#:~:text=Women%20who%20were%20assaulted%20by,%2C%20stillbirths%2C%20and%20unwanted%20pregnancies (last visited on December 2, 2023).
