Tanvi Sinha, Jindal Global Law School
Abstract
The legal system has been reluctant to amend the Marital Rape exception under Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code. As a result, multiple discussions of amending it initiated by Judges and NGOs have been ignored or outright dismissed. Popular discussions from perspectives opposing striking off the exception have shown disregard for women’s capacity to enjoy sex. Other talks on the subject have stated that criminalizing Rape inside a marriage can destroy the Sanctity of Marriages. The paper aims to discuss the marital rape exception in the IPC by analyzing these two reasons to understand what both these structures mean for marital Rape from the perspective of the people in power. With all existing powers portraying themselves as paragons of justice for women, it is important to ask why a woman-forward system still denies the existence of rape and sexual assault inside of marriages.
