Definition and Types of Rape, Marital Rape

Definition of Rape

The word “Rape” has been derived from the Latin term RAPTUS which implies the act of one person damaging or destroying the property of another person whereby the property is refereed to male/female.

Types of Rape

Rape is a heinous crime which involves forced sexual acts on one person by another.

The kinds of rape may be detailed based on who is committing the rape, who the rape victim is and the actions involved in the rape. Some major types of rape are as follows:

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• Diminished capacity rape: The type of rape which is committed when one person forces sexual penetration on another person who cannot consent to the sexual act due to inadequate physical or rational ability or drunkenness etc.
• Incest: The type of Rape which is determined based on the relationship between both the parties particularly when both the parties involved in the sexual act are closely related i.e. mostly with in the family like parents and children, uncles and nieces or nephews etc.
• Aggravated rape: Rape which involves forced sexual acts by the threat of death or severe bodily injury, sexual acts with children under 12 years of age.
• Marital rape: Marital Rape can be characterized as any undesirable intercourse acquired by drive, danger of power or when wife is unable to give consent.

Types of Marital Rape

Marital rape can be categorized in to three major categories as stated below. They are:

1. Battering sexual assault: In this type of marital rape, women will encounter both physical and sexual savagery in the sexual relationship. A few occurrences are those where wife is battered amid sexual viciousness or the rape may happen after a physically brutal scene where the husband forces his significant other to engage in sexual relations without wanting to. This type of marital rape generally involves both physical and sexual violence.
2. Forced sexual assault: In this type of marital rape, husbands utilize that measure of power, as it is important to constrain their wives. In such cases, battering may not be a trademark and women who reject sex more often than not face such attacks. This kind of marital rape generally involves imposition of power and control over another.
3. Obsessive sexual assault: In this type of marital rape, violence includes merciless torment and additionally unreasonable sexual acts and is most ordinarily brutal in shape. This type of rape has additionally been marked as sadistic (or) vicious assault which generally involves torture and perverse sexual acts.

Effects of Marital Rape

Marital rape has more extreme and long lasting effects on women facing it because the rape has been committed by a person whom she anticipated herself a lifetime of happiness and reverence.

The effects of Marital Rape can be broadly categorised in to two types. They are:

• Physical effects

The physical effects of marital rape generally include severe wounds to private organs, fractures, bruises; cuts etc. and women who are subjected to physical cruelty as well as rape suffer from injuries inflicted by any kind of weapon, during sexual savagery women suffer from blackened eyes, broken bones and injuries on their private organs. Furthermore women also go through various gynaecological problems such as miscarriage, infections and also they have a high chance of contracting with various sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV etc.

• Psychological Effect

The mental injury that a lady experiences when a sexual assault is committed against her and without her consent cannot be expressed in words. The mental impacts are more dreadful than the physical impacts which include transient fear, shock, post traumatic anxiety, suicidal inclinations and long term effects such as depression, sexual dysfunction etc.

The offence is rape is a standout amongst the dingiest and primitive violations committed against women. Marital rape, however not categorized as a crime, in India is an exception amongst the most easy to disprove and dissimilar issues. Women have been dealt with as a question of pleasure and joy since time immemorial and the non-criminalisation of marital rape validates the commonness of such social habituation till date. Lately where the global population is fighting for the equality in rights for the two individuals of different sex, the rate of wrongdoing against women is multiplying. The current statistics clearly shows the increase in crime rate against women.

Marital Rape Statistics

The information published under the ongoing National Family Health Survey now called NFHS-4, which gets specialized direction from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare reveals some disturbing facts and figures regarding the marital rape in India.

• As indicated by a 2018 National Family Health Survey, in excess of 80 percent of wedded ladies who have encountered sexual brutality named their present mate as the culprit.[footnoteRef:3] [3: National Family Health Survey.” National Family Health Survey”]
• The NHFS-4 reports that 31% of wedded ladies (almost one out of three) have been oppressed to physical, sexual and passionate brutality on account of their life partner. In spite of the fact that the extent of wedded ladies enduring physical and sexual viciousness because of their spouses has descended from 37% out of 2005-06 to 29% out of 2015-16, it is as nevertheless an extremely high figure.[footnoteRef:4] [4: National Family Health Survey.” National Family Health Survey”]
• The study likewise expresses that 83% of wedded ladies between the ages of 15 and 49 who have ever endured sexual manhandle refer to their present husband as the culprit, while 7% allude to a previous life partner.[footnoteRef:5] [5: National Family Health Survey.” National Family Health Survey”]
• Notwithstanding all the proof pointing towards criminalizing marital rape, the reality remains that 42% of men and 52% ladies trust that spouses are advocated in releasing viciousness on ladies, including if the wife declines to take part in sex, as indicated by NFHS-4. This is an indicator of how this issue isn’t only about the law, but in addition of a lack of improvement in the mind-sets of the citizens in our progressing society.[footnoteRef:6] [6: National Family Health Survey.” National Family Health Survey”]

Constitutionality of Marital Rape

The exception given to the marital rape in the Indian Penal Code which is applicable to the minor girls is unconstitutional for violating two basic fundamental rights which are guaranteed under the Indian Constitution.

The honourable apex court of India in the case of Independent Thought v Union of India held that “There was no discernable object behind the distinction between “married” and “unmarried” minor girls. There was no rational nexus between the marital status of a minor girl on one hand and the unclear object on the other. Therefore the classification was arbitrary and violative of Article 14”[footnoteRef:7] [7: writ petition (civil) no. 382 of 2013]

Violation of Article 14:

Article 14 of the Indian Constitution guarantees that “the state shall not deny to any person equality before law and equal protection of law within the territory of India”[footnoteRef:8] [8: Constitution of India, Article 14]

Exception 2 in Section 375 of Indian Penal Code fundamentally exempts actions performed by husbands against their wives from being considered acts of Rape.

Exception 2 in Section 375 of Indian Penal Code noticeably violates the “Right to Equality” enshrined in Article 14 of the Indian Constitution as it clearly discriminates against wedded women by denying them equivalent protection from rape and sexual harassment. This exception in Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code visibly creates two classes of women based on their marital status i.e. married and unmarried women and this 2nd Exception in Section 375 immunizes the actions committed by men against their wives.

The exemption which is obtainable in Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code is completely contradictory to that object because the consequences of rape are same irrespective of the marital status of the women. In actuality Exception 2 encourages to enter in to sexual intercourse sexually with their wives, as they clearly recognise that their acts are not discouraged or punished by law. Since because no rational nexus can be interpreted between the classification created by the 2nd Exception in Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code and the true objective of the Section, it does not fulfil the test of reasonableness and thus Article 14 of the Indian Constitution is violated.