“Concept of Marital Rape and the Need for Change”

Abstract

Sexual violence against women is always a topic of discussion in India. Where in one place there has always been harass punishment for the offence when committed against a women or child by a stranger or family member other than husband but at the same time the non- consensual and forced sexual intercourse by a husband has been provided protection. The recent judgements of Chhattisgarh HC and Mumbai Session Court which held marital rape not be illegal conduct reaffirms the very notion that rape at the hands of husband is legal. While the country claims to protect the dignity and body of the female the law falls short when protecting the wife from sexual violence at the hands of her husband. The absence of laws and the social stigma associated with speaking against rape in a matrimonial relationship is the reason the cases go unheard or unspoken. This research paper indulges in the legality of Marital Rape while also discussing the reasoning of why such non-consensual sexual advances towards a married woman are provided protection under the very law that claims to protect the dignity of a woman.