India does not criminalise marital rape: Which are the countries where spousal rape is a crime?

It’s rare for Indian courts to make an exceptional judgement when it comes to marital rapes, however, Karnataka High Court on Wednesday delivered one that can be considered groundbreaking as it said, “rape is rape, be it by the husband”. “The institution of marriage does not confer, cannot confer and should not be construed to confer, any special male privilege or a license for unleashing of a brutal beast,” said a single-judge bench of Justice M Nagaprasanna of the Karnataka High Court said. The High Court rejected a petition filed by a husband for dismissal of rape charges against him. His wife had lodged a complaint against him under Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code. She accused him of treating her as a ‘sex slave’. Also read: Karnataka High Court’s ‘rape is rape’ order puts spotlight on marital rape: Understanding what it is and its status in India As the issue of marital rape has again become a topic of discussion, let’s take a look at the countries that recognise it as a criminal offence and those that don’t: What is marital rape? The term marital rape (also referred to as ‘spousal rape’) refers to unwanted intercourse by a man on his wife obtained by force, threat of force or physical violence or when she is unable to give consent. The words ‘unwanted intercourse’ refers to all sorts of penetration (whether anal, vaginal or oral) perpetrated against her will or without her consent. Also read: Why it is time for India to join 150 countries in criminalising marital rape According to the World Health Organisation, Sexual violence is defined as: “any sexual act, attempt to obtain a sexual act, unwanted sexual comments or advances, or acts to traffic, or otherwise directed, against a person’s sexuality using coercion, by any person regardless of their relationship to the victim, in any setting, including but not limited to home and work." The countries where marital rape is a crime Poland is one of the first countries to recognise marital rape as a criminal offence in 1932. The Soviet Union, now Russia, removed “marital exemption” from its rape laws in 1922. Over the years several first-world countries too made it an offence punishable under law, including the UK, the US, Canada, Australia, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, New Zealand, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and many more. The list of countries where marital rape is criminalised also includes small and third-world countries like Ghana, Gambia, Gabon, South Africa, Nepal, Cambodia, Chile, Comoros, Cuba, Albania, Venezuela, Vietnam, Namibia, and Mexico among several others. The offence can attract severe punishment from the courts in these countries that can stretch up to a life imprisonment. Countries like Rwanda, the United Kingdom, South Korea, and Mongolia have different degrees of punishment going as far as a life imprisonment. The countries that don’t recognise marital rape as a crime Starting from India, its neighbours Pakistan, China, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan don’t recognise spousal rape as a punishable offence. Other countries in the list are Haiti, Laos, Mali, Senegal, Tajikistan, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Iran, Nigeria, and Algeria among others. There are countries that are ambiguous about recognising marital rape under their rape laws like Kuwait, Malaysia, and Lebanon. Even though Kuwait does not specifically address marital rape under its rape law, but in August 2020, the country passed a domestic violence law that criminalises “physical, psychological, sexual or financial mistreatment, whether in words or actions” amongst family members including spousal mistreatment. In Malaysia, the concept of rape within marriage is not recognised. However, a man may be imprisoned up to five years if he “causes hurt or fear of death or hurt to his wife or any other person in order to have sexual intercourse with his wife “. Status of marital rape in India At present, the exception to Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code, says sexual intercourse by a man with his own wife, the wife not being under fifteen years of age, is not rape. The definition of rape as per Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) includes all forms of sexual assault involving non-consensual intercourse with a woman. However, Exception 2 to Section 375 exempts unwilling sexual intercourse between a husband and a wife over 15 years of age from Section 375’s definition of “rape” and thus immunises such acts from prosecution. As per law, a wife is presumed to deliver perpetual consent to have sex with her husband after entering into marital relations. Courts and lawmakers have time and again debated against and in favour of making marital rape a criminal offence. The JS Verma committee set up in the aftermath of nationwide protests over the rape in December 2013 recommended that marital rape be criminalised. In 2016, then-Woman and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi stated in the Rajya Sabha that the concept of marital rape could not be applied to India because marriage is a “sacrament”. With inputs from agencies Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.