by Joan Huston

Created on: January 24, 2007   Last Updated: March 24, 2011

Partner and spousal rape is a topic that used to be a non-issue as it was commonly believed that a husband had a right to have sexual relations with his wife. A topic that was ignored for many years, spousal rape is now recognized as illegal in every state in America. This type of rape was officially declared a human rights violation in 1993. Women need to understand what partner/spousal rape is, how they can assert their rights, and how to protect themselves.

Rape is not just a woman walking down the street and being attacked by a total stranger. In fact, more than half of the rapes committed on college campuses are committed while on a date (Koss 1990). That means that over half of these women knew their attacker on a personal level. Force is not the only way to rape; lack of consent is also a way for a rape to be committed.

A woman is unable to consent if she is under legal age, suffers from a mental disease or defect, is mentally incapacitated or helpless due to the use of drugs or alcohol, or is physically helpless and unable to communicate unwillingness to an act. According to the FBI, "The victim does not have to be threatened with a dangerous weapon or be injured for an incident to be considered rape. Coercion or threats of force or violence are sufficient (FBI, 1982)."

Acquaintance rape is the most common type of rape that women must suffer from. Some men feel if they do enough persuading and coercion and the woman folds, it is because they want to. The legal definition of rape defines it as using coercion to get a woman to have sex. Some men don't even know that their use of coercion is actually considered rape. Once a woman is out of the arena of dating, this does not mean that she does not have to worry about her partner sexually assaulting her.

It is estimated that up to 15% of married women in America have been victims of spousal rape. The victims are not only subject to the trauma of the act of rape, they are also left with a multitude of emotional issues. Many women who fall victim to this type of violence blame themselves for staying in an abusive relationship while many women do not have the means to leave. Others see sexual submission as something that she must do because of her religious convictions.

Today, women have some options available to them when they are faced with spousal abuse. It is now legal for a woman to press charges against her husband in the United States and in many other developed countries.

Unfortunately, many states make a distinction between stranger-rape and rape that occurs within the context of marriage, with the former carrying harsher penalties than the latter. There are also many different organizations and support groups that work to erase the shame that is associated with the act of being raped. These organizations help women form networks that aid a woman's recovery and inform her of the rights she is able to assert.

Learn more about this author, Joan Huston.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.