Rape in Marriage
Unfortunately, not many people dare to talk about rape in marriage, known also under the terms spousal rape, marital rape, partner rape, wife rape ...
Sexual violence between spouses is often kept a secret. (PhotoXpress)
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What is spousal rape?
Spousal rape occurs when a person does any sexual activity against the wishes of their spouse, and when intercourse is done with force, threats and intimidation. It can also take place because the victims are unable to express their desires. Rape in marriage may involve vaginal, anal or oral intercourse, forced intercourse with other people, or any form of sexual activity that the victim finds demeaning or painful.
Why is rape in marriage so difficult to recognize?
Many women who are victims of rape in marriage have problems identifying this kind of sexual violence. This may be due to the fact that for a long time it was believed (in patriarchal society) that by marrying a woman, a man gets a right to demand sex from her. A wife who’s been raped is often in doubt whether she was really raped, considering that the perpetrator is her husband and not some stranger. She may feel that on the wedding day she pledged that her body will be always at his disposal.
Experts suggest that women try to justify or deny their partners' sexual violence by conjuring up rationalizations, looking for various explanations and excuses (which can be religious), even though they know perfectly well that they've been betrayed by a person they used to trust. As with any other form of rape, they don't suffer only physical, but also psychological abuse. Rape in marriage is just as traumatic as rape committed by a stranger, except that with the former there are far greater chances of the violence occurring again.
What can be considered rape?
In plain terms, rape is any sexual act done against the victim’s will, i.e. without their consent. Rape therefore isn’t just forced vaginal, anal or oral intercourse. Unwanted stroking or massaging of the genitals can also be seen as a form of rape.
Rape in marriage frequently happens under the influence of alcohol. Husbands often force their spouses into sexual intercourse using verbal violence. They may threaten to find another woman who will satisfy their needs better than their current partner. The most extreme case of rape in marriage involves a man forcing his wife to provide sexual services to other people, which borders upon forced prostitution.
Research on spousal rape
Feminist, writer and activist 
Diana E. H. Russell conducted a research in which she randomly included 900 American women. She found that as many as 8 percent of them had been victims of rape in marriage. Nowadays, the number seems to be somewhere between 10 and 14 percent in the US. Until 1976, the American Constitution ignored spousal rape. At present, however, rape in marriage is recognized as illegal in all 50 states.
In England and Wales, the prohibition of marital rape came into effect as late as 1991, and even then there were some who claimed that a husband can’t rape his wife because their marriage is based on a mutual understanding that they gave themselves to each other. Nevertheless, rape in marriage is increasingly seen as a serious type of crime. Usually the prosecution process begins the minute the victim reports it to the police.
Tina Turner
The movie What's Love Got to Do with It is the biography of Tina Turner. If you’ve seen it, you probably remember the scene where Ike, her then husband, takes her by force during the recording of her new song. Tina Turner eventually left him - a course of action that is advisable in all such cases.
Read more about sex and sexuality in our 
Lover's Guide.
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