Determination Of Marriage As A License To Rape: A Comparative Analysis Of The Status Of Marital Rape In India And The USA
Himali Agarwal, LLM, Galgotias University
ABSTRACT
Marriage is considered as a sacred institution, but to find the justification of every act in the name of sacrament requires a revival of research into the contrasting status of marital rape in India and USA. Marital rape is an act of sexual intercourse with a spouse without the consent of that spouse and thus also referred to as Spousal Rape. The most essential element of the term rape is absence of consent and due to its far reaching adverse physical and psychological impacts, it has been criminalized all over the world, but when the same act involves an element of marriage in it, then the legal status pertaining to it starts to differ and therefore, in USA, it has been criminalized, whereas in India it is still a valid defense under Section 375 of IPC.
In order to highlight this unnoticed form of violence, we will determine the status of the institution of marriage and the legal status of marital rape in both the countries. Also, we will determine the justifiability of the same with emphasizing on how the decriminalization of marital rape violates the basic fundamental rights guaranteed by the constitution of India, the adverse impacts associated with it, status of women in the Indian Patriarchal society. Lastly, we will determine the recommendations of the J.S. Verma Committee Report, the changes to be brought in Indian laws and the steps to be taken to establish the fact that Rape is a Rape whether done by a stranger or a spouse.
Keywords: Marriage, Rape, Spousal rape, Constitution, fundamental rights.
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