Marital Rape - Are You Seriously Considering It?

Marriage is a socially and legally recognized union of a man and a woman. It is an institution wherein a man and woman are legally permitted to have sex. Marriage is also considered sacred as it enables a stable environment for the growth and development of children. Consent to sex is implicit in a marriage. How does Marital Rape fit in such a legally sanctioned framework?

Sexual violence or abuse is already covered in existing laws (DV Act, IPC 498-A, IPC 376a, IPC 377).  Why then is there a clamor for a Marital Rape law by the Feminists?  Their notion of a Marital Rape law again presumes that the wife is the victim and the husband to be the rapist.

The feminists believe that sex is the key to controlling a man in a marriage. Husband will be permitted to have sex only if he can go according to the whims and fancies of the wife. One can fully guarantee that there wouldn't be a single husband living on this planet who hasn't heard Not now, Honey! 

The husband comes home after a hard day's work. He is exhausted and wouldn't want anything but go to sleep. Wife gets the urge and wants him. He obliges as he doesn't want to disappoint her. What do you think happened in this scenario? Was he raped? If the genders were reversed, you would scream that she was raped.

Actually, what happened is a mood violation. Are most folks confusing mood violation as rape? It appears very much so.

How can Marital Rape law be implemented? It will be on the basis of the wife's word. It is enough to convict the husband as the evidence would clearly suggest that a sexual act did take place. If the wife says rape, then it must be rape.

Misuse has been rampant in other laws (IPC 498-A, DV, Rape) which also go by a woman's word.

Lakhs of people have been charged with IPC 498-A since 1983. Conviction rate hovers in a single digit as noted in the above graph for the past 7 years. Misuse goes unchecked. False case filers go scot-free

A Judge recently observed that provisions of the Domestic Violence Act could be used as a sword/shield to get protection from domestic violence but not used as a sword for causing violence to the other partner in ones life. This act enabled unscrupulous women to get right to residence and throw their husband out of that residence.

The Madras High Court called for a “neutral and non prejudicial” law to protect genuine victims of domestic violence, irrespective of the gender, noting that existing law contains a flaw that lends itself to easy misuse by women. 

“The notable flaw in this law is that it lends itself to such easy misuse that women will find it hard to resist the temptation to teach lesson to their male relatives and will file frivolous and false cases,”

Around 73% of rape cases result in acquittal as per NCRB data. The stringent modifications to the rape law in Dec 2012 has only increased the number of false cases and trivializing the offence of rape. A Delhi court even went on to say that a person accused of rape should be called "Rape case survivor" if acquitted, because of the harmful effect of being falsely accused of rape.

Supreme Court has expressed anxiety over the recent spurt in rape cases that appear to have been filed by plaintiffs in unfulfilled relationships. In fact, the matter forced the apex court to ask if a failed consensual relationship between adults could lead to filing of rape charges against the man. 

The Delhi high court had expressed similar apprehensions last year when it observed that rape cases were increasingly being used as a weapon for vengeance to harass and even force a man to marry. Such a trend not only militates against justice but also represents a clear danger to the legal framework regarding gender crimes.

The feminists want to do away with the exception in IPC 376 so that a husband can be imprisoned for a term no less than 7 years and with a fine. A wife can legally end the marriage by putting the husband behind bars and also enjoy his assets and wealth while he rots away in prison.

One can only project how badly Marital rape will be misused if it becomes a law, going by the existing laws. Marital Rape can not be allowed as a law because it will automatically convict husbands. Marriage has already been criminalized. We should not criminalize the sex in it. Currently, married men are committing suicide at double the rate of married women. No guesses needed to figure that it will increase further if Marital rape becomes a law.

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Jaago Bharat - Don't Blindly Jump on Marital Rape?

Chak De India is one of the memorable Shahrukh movies in which he became the character and was not himself. There is a sequence in the movie, in which he is asked as to why he was scratching his silver medal. He replies that he was trying to turn it into a gold medal!

It is not possible to transmute the metals, how much ever one tries. Similarly, a lie is a lie. It will not become true if the lie is repeated over and over. Feminists have harped on making a law for criminalizing sex in a marriage for at least a decade in India. The impression they have created is that India doesn't have such a law.

It is a big LIE. Sexual violence by a Husband is already covered under existing DV Act, IPC Section 498-A, IPC 376a, IPC 377. Why do the feminists, Women NGOs and the western powers behind them want a new law? It is simply to wreck the Indian family and raise the existing extortion racket to a much higher level.

Law #1: Protection of Women From Domestic Violence Act 2005 (PWDVA)

Definition of Domestic Violence as per PWDVA, 2005 is as follows:

3. Definition of domestic violence.—
For the purposes of this Act, any act, omission or commission or conduct of the respondent shall constitute domestic violence in case it—
(a) harms or injures or endangers the health, safety, life, limb or well‑being, whether mental or physical, of the aggrieved person or tends to do so and includes causing physical abuse, sexual abuse, verbal and emotional abuse and economic abuse; or
(b) harasses, harms, injures or endangers .........; or
(c) has the effect of threatening ........ or
(d) otherwise injures or causes harm, whether physical or mental......
Explanation I.—For the purposes of this section,—
(i) “physical abuse” .........;
(ii) “sexual abuse” includes any conduct of a sexual nature that abuses, humiliates, degrades or otherwise violates the dignity of woman;

As per Domestic Violence Act in India:

• Any sexual conduct is punishable.
• Protection order stops the Respondent(s) from committing any act of Domestic Violence, including Sexual Abuse.
• Breach of Protection order means jail term of 1 year
• Rape is treated as a subset of Sexual Abuse.
• As the name implies, only women can be victims.

Law #2: IPC Section 498-A (Husband or relatives of Husband subjecting a woman to cruelty)

Husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty.—Whoever, being the husband or the relative of the husband of a woman, subjects such woman to cruelty shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years and shall also be liable to fine.

Explanation
For the purpose of this section, “cruelty” means—

(a) any willful conduct which is of such a nature as is likely to drive the woman to commit suicide or to cause grave injury or danger to life, limb or health (whether mental or physical) of the woman; or

CLASSIFICATION OF OFFENCE
Punishment—Imprisonment for 3 years and fine ‑ Cognizable if information relating to the commission of the offence is given to an officer in charge of a police station by the person aggrieved by the offence or by any person related to her by blood, marriage or adoption or if there is no such relative, by any public servant belonging to such class or category as may be notified by the State Government in this behalf—Non-bailable—Triable by Magistrate of the first class—Non-compoundable.

As per IPC Section 498-A:

• Harassment can be of any type and includes sexual harassment. 

Law #3, IPC Section 376A

Intercourse by a man with his wife during separation.—Whoever has sexual intercourse with his own wife, who is living separately from him under a decree of separation or under any custom or usage without her consent shall be punished with im­prisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years and shall also be liable to fine.

As per IPC Section 376A:

• Rape of a ‘Wife’ by a Husband is covered under the rape law (IPC Section 376).

Law #3, IPC Section 377 (Unnatural Offences)

Whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment of either description for term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.

Explanation:
Penetration is sufficient to constitute the carnal intercourse necessary to the offence described in this section.
CLASSIFICATION OF OFFENCE
Punishment—Imprisonment for life, or imprisonment for 10 years and fine—Cognizable—Non-Bailable—Triable by Magistrate of the first class—Non-compoundable.

As per IPC Section 377:

• Any sex ‘against the order of nature’ is punishable.
• Imprisonment for 10 years and fine.
• Non-Bailable. Yes, only a court can give Bail.
• Men can only be perpetrators as it states penetration.

Marriage itself has already been criminalized. Supreme Court has stated IPC Section 498-A as "Legal Terrorism". Justice Malimath had recommended to make the draconian law as compoundable and bailable. Indian Government is yet to act on those recommendations.

PWDVA is a biased law as men too are victims of domestic violence but can't get relief as the law doesn't accept men as victims. Vaguely written laws have wrecked havoc and added to the Judicial pendency.

Rape is a gender neutral offence all over the world but it is not so in India. Earlier law commission reports have suggested to make rape law gender neutral but Justice Verma reversed it under the pressure of Feminists.

A woman can file a rape case if a consensual affair went sour. Those cases amount to a good number in the rape cases where men have been acquitted.

It is a loss to Nation if its Men and Boys, instead of contributing to Nation's GDP, are running around courts fighting false cases. The extortion racket has been enabled by the law makers, cops, lawyers and Judges. 

DV, Rape, Sexual Harassment at Workplace have to be made gender neutral (as the current laws are a violation of Article 14 of our Constitution).

Let wisdom dawn upon the Modi Sarkar who profess to be different from the previous Governments and have the Nation's interests in their mind. There won't be a Shrest Bharat or Make in India, if they don't stem the rot in the Judicial system. They will remain pipe dreams.

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