Marital Rape ppt

Marital Rape ppt

• 1.
  By Angelina Naorem B.B.A.LL.B. Honours The North Cap University, Gurgaon
• 2.
   Marriage :a formal union of a man and woman by which they become husband and wife.  Rape: Forcible seizure or the ravishment of a woman without her consent by force, fear or fraud.  Marital Rape: Unwanted intercourse by a man on his wife obtained by force or physical violence or when she is unable to give consent.
• 3.
   Physical Effects:Injuries to private organs, soreness, bruising, torn muscles, fatigue, vomiting, broken bones, bloody noses, wounds and gynecological problems like miscarriages, infertility, bladder infections, etc.  Psychological Effects: Anxiety, fear, shock, depression, flashbacks, sexual dysfunction, sleep problems, disordered eating, suicidal tendencies, etc.
• 4.
   Based onthe notion of “irrevocable implied consent” – once a woman is married to a man, there is an implied consent to sexual intercourse which is irrevocable in nature.  Woman considered to be property of her husband.
• 5.
   Irrevocable ConsentArgument: Implied consent of wife by way of their mutual matrimonial consent.  Blackstone’s Common Law Unity Doctrine: Husband and wife after marriage unite into a single entity and husband holds the joint ownership.  Property Rights Argument: Women considered to be property of their father before marriage and husband after marriage.
• 6.
   Marriage PreservationTheory: Marriage is an important institution of the society and conjugal obligations to be fulfilled by both the parties to marriage.  No less/harm Argument: Non-consensual sex with husband better than non-consensual sex with a stranger.  Privacy Argument: Prosecuting husbands for marital rape infringes marital privacy.  Probability of Misuse Argument: Husbands being subjected to false charges by their wives.
• 7.
   S. 375of IPC defines rape and various instances of rape.  S. 376 provides punishment for rape.  Husband can be criminally prosecuted for marital rape as under-  1) Wife( 12-15yrs), imprisonment upto 2 yrs or fine or both.  2) Wife( below 12 yrs), imprisonment not less than 7 yrs, may extend to life or 10 yrs and fine.
• 8.
   3) Judiciallyseparated wife, imprisonment upto 2 yrs and fine.  4) Wife above 15 yrs, not punishable.  Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005- if a woman has undergone marital rape, she can go to the court and obtain judicial separation from her husband.  42nd Law Commission Report suggested that marital rape should be criminalized.  Justice Verma Committee also constituted in 2013 and made recommendations on marital rape.
• 9.
   Art. 14-equal protection of the law. S. 375 of the IPC makes a classification in terms of an exemption that does not regard a forceful sexual intercourse within a marriage as rape.  Art. 21- Life is “sumthing more then mere animal existence” ( Munn v. Illinois). It violates right to privacy, right to bodily self- determination and right to good health which forms an integral part of Art. 21.  Marital rape violates the right to live with human dignity.
• 10.
   Right toPrivacy includes the right to be left alone. Any form of force sexual intercourse violates the right to privacy. ( St. of Maharashtra v. Madhkar Narayan)  Right to bodily self-determination is based on the belief that the individual is the ultimate decision maker in matters closely associated with his/her body or well-being. Consent to sex is one of the most intimate and personal choice that a woman reserves for herself.  Marital rape exemption doctrine violates the right to good health of a victim as it causes physical and psychological harm in the process.
• 11.
   Queen Empressv. Haree Mythee: Even if the wife is above the age of 15 yrs., husband has no right to disregard her physical safety.  Emperor v. Shahu Mahrab: Husband convicted u/s. 304A of IPC for causing death of his child wife by rash/ negligent act of sexual intercourse.  Sree Kumar v. Pearly Karun: Dispute of divorce between the parties. Settlement was reached and parties agreed to reside together. Wife subjected to sexual intercourse against her will. Husband not held guilty for raping his wife even if he was de facto guilty of having done so.
• 12.
   Women constitutehalf of the society’s population which gives rise to the other half.  Women still continues to be victimized by men and society.  Marital rape should be criminalized in India. Even though it is prevalent in India, it is hidden behind the curtains of marriage.  Several states such as Turkey, Japan, Australia, Thailand, China, South Africa etc. have recognized marital rape as an offence.
• 13.
   In 2006,marital rape was considered as an offence punishable under the criminal law in at least 100 countries and India is not one of them.  Various legislations and enactments passed in India regarding violence against women in her own house like dowry, cruelty, domestic violence and female infanticide but not marital rape.  Nobody has a right to force his will upon any other person.  No justification in viewing non-consensual sex b/w married couples as different from those with strangers.