"Marital rape is an open secret in the Indian society. Many women in India experience non-consensual, forced sex at the hands of their husbands. In fact, the recent National Family Health Survey says that most married woman experience sexual abuse at the hands of their partners. And the numbers are staggering. According to the National Family Health Survey 5 conducted between (2019-21), “Among married women aged 18-49 who have ever experienced sexual violence, 83 per cent report their current husband and 13 per cent report a former husband as perpetrator.” Many of them said that their husbands “physically forced them to have sexual intercourse with them even when they did not want to”. This is similar to the IPC’s definition of rape.
And despite that, Marital rape is not acknowledged. Because of one exception in the rape law. The Exception is for husbands. That the rape law does not consider it a crime when the perpetrator is Husband.
There have been petitions filed in the court to challenge the exception. One such petition came up before Delhi HC. However, the two judge bench gave a split verdict. The verdict paves the way for Supreme Court to decide on the matter, but it also reopens the longstanding debate of whether Marital rape should be criminalised in India or not.
Today we are talking to Feminist activist and author, Kavita Krishnan about Marital Rape and whether it is time India should criminalize it.
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