'''Marital rape''', also known within [[law]] as '''Spousal rape''', is the [[Rape|rape]] of a [[wife]] or [[husband]] by their own partner.
Whether marital rape is considered a [[crime]] depends on where you live in the [[world]]. Almost all developed [[countries]], and many developing countries, recognise marital rape as being a crime, including, but not limited too: [[Argentina]], [[Australia]], [[Austria]], [[Barbados]], [[Belize]], [[Bulgaria]], [[Canada]], [[Croatia]], [[Cyprus]], [[Denmark]], [[Ecuador]], the [[Fiji]] Islands, [[Finland]], [[France]], [[Georgia]], [[Germany]], [[Honduras]], [[Hong Kong]], [[Ireland]], [[Israel]], [[Macedonia]], [[Mexico]], [[Namibia]], [[Nepal]], The [[Netherlands]], [[New Zealand]], [[Norway]], The [[Philippines]], [[Poland]], [[South Africa]], [[Spain]], [[Sri Lanka]], [[Sweden]], [[Taiwan]], [[Trinidad and Tobago]], the [[United Kingdom]] as a whole, the [[United States of America|United States]], [[Uzbekistan]], and [[Zimbabwe]]<refname="about">http://marriage.about.com/cs/maritalrape/f/maritalrape10.htm</ref>. However, the degree that these countries consider the seriousness of the crime of marital rape compared to 'stranger' rape varies from country to country, and indeed [[state]] to state. While some countries and states consider that marital rape is not as serious a crime as other forms of rape, other countries and states hold it to be as serious a crime, or a worse crime, as incidence of marital rape is a strong indicator that other forms of [[Domestic violence|domestic abuse]] are also taking place.<refname="hidden">[http://www.hiddenhurt.co.uk/Articles/maritalrape.htm Marital Rape]</ref>
== Marital rape and the law ==
As a result of this, judges within the UK treated marital rape as an exception to the rape law until 1991. In 1991 the [[House of Lords]], the highest national court in the UK, sat in judgement on an appeal lodged in the case of ''R v R'' [1992] 1 AC 599. At the heart of the case rested the question of whether one of the parties involved could have have committed rape on the other party (the spouse) given that the two parties were married to each other. The judges found that what had been perceived as [[case law]] regarding marital rape had been made on the basis of Hale's opinion, and that the opinion in question wasn't [[Precedent|precedence]] (as it wasn't the finding of legal fact within a case), then common law granted no exemption for marital rape within the provisions of the statute governing the crime of rape.
In the US marital rape was exempted from prosecution until 1976. In 1975 [[South Dakota]] removed the exception, and now all 50 states consider marital rape to be a crime, although not all states regard it as being as serious as other forms of rape. States that have no legal distinction between rape and marital rape include, but are not necessarily limited to [[Colorado]], [[Delaware]], [[Florida]], [[Georgia]], [[Indiana]], [[Massachusetts]], [[Montana]], [[Nebraska]], [[New Jersey]], [[New Mexico]], [[North Carolina]], [[North Dakota]], [[Oregon]], [[Texas]], [[Utah]], [[Vermont]], [[Wisconsin]] and the [[District of Columbia]].<ref>http://marriage.name="about.com/cs/maritalrape/f/maritalrape10.htm<" /ref>
==Opinions on Marital rape==
Where people believe that marital rape is a crime, but not as serious a crime as rape by a stranger, there is often a belief that because the spouses are well known to each other forced intimacy within a marriage is not as traumatic an event as other forms of rape. Marital rape is difficult to define. Many wives see it as just a communication problem. Rape by a stranger, a highly traumatizing event itself, is usually a one-time occurrence. Marital rape occurs between partners that could have known each other for years and could be repeated. The wife may feel a sense of betrayal, and see the relationship coming to an end.<ref>[http:name="hidden" //www.hiddenhurt.co.uk/Articles/maritalrape.htm Marital Rape</ref>
== References ==
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[[Category:Crimes]]