April - June 2010 - Bureau of Police Research and Development

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Marital Rape : The Assasination of a Woman's DignityThe time is ripe for the Indian Legislature towake up from its years of slumber and makeamendments to the Indian Penal Code. Severaljurisdictions of the world have eitherrecognized marital rape as an offence or elseset in motion the task of breaking the shacklesof traditionalism. Marital rape is prevalent inevery city, every town, very village of India,it might even be happening in our ownneighbourhoods; the only difference is that wehave turned a blind eye to the issue. Thelawmakers must realize that if the sanctity ofthe Constitution is to be maintained, the dignityand honour of the womenfolk must berespected. The fundamental duty of everycitizen of India to denounce practicesderogatory to the dignity of women as well asto value and preserve the rich heritage of ourcomposite culture is pointer to that very fact.The culture and tradition of India puts emphasison strength not abuse, equality not power andcontrol. If such heritage is to be reinstated inIndian life, women must find a place ofrespect. And for this as said by Garda Ghost,"We need to join hands with all those goodpersons who fight this heinous injustice towomen."Manu had said:“Where females are honoured, there the deitiesare pleased; but where they are dishonoured,there all religious rites become useless. Womenmust be honored”.Reference1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spousal_rape2. Marital Rape: A Scar On The Face Of TheCivilized Society,http://midgetentity.rediffiland.com/blogs/2007/12/12/Marital-Rape-A-scar-on-the-face-ofcivilized. html3. http://www.hiddenhurt.co.uk/Articles/maritalrape.htm4. www.wcsap.org/advocacy/PDF/MaritalRapeDekota.pdf5. http://new.vawnet.org/category/Main_Doc.php?docid=2486. License to Rape, Gender Justice, edt. byChakraborty, Dr. N.K. and Chakraborty, Dr.Sachi, Cambray.72 ➢ The Indian Police Journal Vol. LVII-No. 2, April-June, 2010
Silence of the Law on Marital RapeGunjan Chowksey & Shantanu Srivastava*IntroductionThe first and the foremost question we want to putup before the society is that what name should begiven to a 'forcible sexual intercourse' of a man withhis own defenseless wife. The only possible answerto this is 'Marital Rape' i.e. rape within marriage.However, in this era of rapidly developing CriminalJustice System the criminalisation of this offencein totality under the Indian Penal Code is still inremission. Although credit can be given for itsrecognition as a civil offence under the Protectionof Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005.Therefore, the researchers through this paper wouldlike to lay emphasis on the modification of statutesfor the criminalisation of the offence of marital rapeand thus making it punishable on the lines of 'rape'as given under the Indian Penal Code. Thus, in lightof the above objective the paper seeks to study thehistory of the marital rape exemption and sought toanswer the question as to whether marital rape fitswell within the traditional definitions of crime. Apartfrom these academic issues, we also envisage astudy of the marital rape exemption in India and inEngland (where it was made a criminal offence in1991). Finally the researchers have also sought toput forth arguments against the criminalisation ofmarital rape and their rebuttals."Not enough people understand what rape is,and, until they do …..., not enough will be doneto stop it"–Rape victim, quoted in Groth 1979(p.87)Now the question that arises here is, "are womenaware that rape can happen within marriage?" Theresult of surveys clearly reveals that womenthemselves do not acknowledge that they are beingvictimised. Thus, wives are not only 'culturallylegitimate victims' but also 'ideal victims.' In such asituation, what are we to do with an act, where halfthe population (male) is dead against criminalisingit for obvious reasons and the other half seems to beignorant of its own plight. There is only a veryminuscule minority of women who have beencampaigning for making marital rape an offence.In addition to all these problems, criminalisation ofmarital rape is a political agenda too, wherebyarguments such as the "domestic privacy taboo"and "non-interventionist state" are being used tomaintain status quo in the marital relationships withundue conjugal duties upon the wife. Mythssurrounding marriage like "acquaintance rape is notreal rape" and "blanket consent in marriage" furthercomplicate matters. Also such victimization ishidden "behind closed doors" and goes unreported.However, can we still choose to ignore such actswhen we know that marital rape has long termphysical and psychological implications on thehealth of the woman and also makes the home an"impenetrable sanctuary" for husbands toperpetuate crimes under the garb of conjugal rights?Thus, it is high time that we revamp the laws tostrengthen the Criminal Justice System on the linesof the English Law where it has already beencriminalised. In pursuance of this aim, theresearchers have sought to present a study on"marital rape" in this research paper which in theWestern world is looked upon "as any sexual activityby a married or cohabiting partner that isperformed without the consent of the other partner.This includes fondling, oral sex, anal sex,intercourse, or any unwanted or forced sexualactivity" 1 . At this juncture it is pertinent to mentionthat under the Indian Law this definition of MaritalRape comes under the purview of the Protection ofWomen from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 whichrecognizes it as one of the forms of domesticviolence 2 and imposes civil liabilities.1Vernon R. Wiehe, "Understanding Family Violence" (SagePublications: 1998), at p 762Under Section 3 'Domestic Violence' is defined asKey WordsWifeRapeExemptionHistoryCrimeIPCPenalisationArgumentsPreventionJustice*Research ScholarsNational Law Institute University,Bhopal.The Indian Police Journal Vol. LVII-No. 2, April-June, 2010 73➢
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Police Sub-Culture : An Adaptation
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April - June 2010 - Bureau of Police Research and Development

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