海角大神

Rape is considered a crime in India under section 375 of India鈥檚 Penal Code 鈥� except when it involves a spouse.

Under Indian law 鈥撀燭he Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013聽鈥� 鈥渟exual intercourse or sexual acts by a man with his own wife, the wife not being under fifteen years of age, is not rape."

Maneka Gandhi, India鈥檚 Minister for Women and Child Development, said Thursday, that 聽India isn鈥檛 ready to pass a legislation that would criminalize marital rape. Citing several factors including, social norms, education levels, illiteracy and religious beliefs Ms. Gandhi stated that the concept of spousal rape as understood in the international context, isn鈥檛 applicable in the Indian context.

Her remarks, coming three months after the Indian government announced plans to criminalize spousal rape, were criticized by analysts who say the comments negate the progress that women rights activists have made in championing for the measure, and other women rights issues.

The United Nations, which has been urging the Indian government to criminalize marital rape, reports that up to 75 percent of women are subjected to rape by their spouses.

Rape emerged as a major issue, sparking street protests and controversy in India since 2012, as 海角大神 reported:聽

But India isn鈥檛 alone in dealing with rape, and especially marital rape. In Africa, less than half the countries on the continent consider spousal rape a crime. The typical argument put forward contends that rape can鈥檛 happen in a marriage. It would be hard to prove, many say.

"You know, there's the African thing that your husband can't rape you,鈥� Rita Achiro is Executive Director of the Uganda Women's Network, told the Voice of America.

鈥淭hey will tell you how can your husband rape you? 聽It's an entitlement. 聽That's the belief people have, so we are still going round in circles trying to safeguard women using conditions under which she can deny the other sex. 聽Ideally, it shouldn't happen like that, there shouldn't be conditions. Rape is rape鈥�

In the US, marital rape is illegal in all 50 states including the District of Columbia, though it wasn鈥檛 until the 1970s that marital rape was examined and an effort to criminalize it began. Previous laws 鈥� which originated from the British common law also holding that it wasn鈥檛 possible for a spouse to rape in a marriage 鈥撀爀xempted spouses from being prosecuted for marital rape, reports Time.聽By July 1993 all the states had criminalized spousal rape in the US.

But even the US continues to wrestle with attitudes about this issue.聽Last July, a lawyer for Donald Trump, Michael Cohen聽came under fire and had to apologize after he said that聽it isn鈥檛 possible for a spouse to rape in a marriage.

Even where it is outlawed, marital rape cases in Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Virginia and Idaho聽aren鈥檛 handled in the same way other rape cases.聽

In both Ohio and Oklahoma, spouses claiming rape have to prove that their spouse used "force or threat of force" not just coercion for rape legislation to even apply in the first place,聽according to the Daily Beast.

A 2014 story by聽Health Research Funding.org聽found that 30 percent of rape cases were perpetrated by husbands and partners in long term relationships, and that 65 percent of the rapes happened more than once. The report also found that 鈥渨omen from religious backgrounds are more likely to accept spousal rape because they fear being labeled a 鈥榮inner' because of a possible divorce or having a spouse that commits adultery.鈥�