Thursday, January 19, 2017

Rape in Marriage

Rape in Marriage
"Partnership of equals"

The ruling by Britain’s Law Lords that a husband who forces his wife to have sex is acting unlawfully and could face charges of rape has been greeted as a triumph by women’s rights campaigners and victims of sexual abuse in marriage.

The Law Lords have looked again at a ruling dating back to 1736 which said that by marrying, the woman had given her consent to sex whatever the circumstances. That, said the Law Lords, was no longer appropriate in a modern marriage which is a partnership of equals. A man who in future insists on conjugal rights can be prosecuted for marital rape.

(A News by The BBC, on October 1991)

**