Breaking The Silence: Reassessing Marital Rape Through Indian Jurisprudence
- IJLLR Journal
- Apr 22
- 1 min read
Sai Saranya, BBA LLB, VIT School of Law, Chennai
Dr. Arun D Raj, Assistant Professor, VIT School of Law, Chennai.
ABSTRACT
The existence of marital rape remains hotly contested in the Indian context, as the society continues to hold seemingly patriarchal customs and archaic laws that do not recognize marital violence against women. Sexual consent in marriage is perpetual and breaches individualistic as well as human rights of the people. This paper explains the contradiction in Indian welfare jurisprudence in relation to marital rape because legal and social ethics along with morality justify its criminalization. The Indian legal system offers scant safeguards on account of Section 63 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) which excuses non-consensual intercourse within marriage from being termed as rape. This examination incorporates international legal norms which seek to put marital rape within the confines of law. This paper demonstrates the necessity for reforming legislation by illustrating the cultural resistance and misconceptions regarding marital rape. The ignorance and attendant silence surrounding marital rape must be broken, for addressing this issue goes a long way in eliminating longstanding practices while fostering gender equity.
