Marital Rape: A Worrying Trend

Essay by koolblueUniversity, Bachelor'sB, March 2009

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IntroductionRape is a form of sexual assault where an individual forces another to have sexual intercourse against that person’s will. It is a heinous crime which affects its victims both physically and mentally. Unfortunately, most of these victims can never recover from the traumatic experience caused by this form of assault.

Marital rape, also known as spousal rape, is a form of rape committed by the victim’s own spouse. It is far worse than “Stranger rape” which is done by someone unfamiliar, whom the victim has no connections with in terms of experiences or history. When a loved one, especially someone whom you have shared and entrusted your life with, who knows the most intimate details of your life – your hopes and dreams, secrets and fears, with whom you start a family with and wants the best for your family commits this assault, it affects the victim in more ways than physical and sexual violation.

A spouse committing marital rape betrays the partner’s trust and the fundamental basis of their marriage. The victim not only feels humiliated and betrayed, he or she will be confused as to how the partner is capable of committing such an act in the first place and questions their marriage, their partner and their own self.

Categories of Marital RapeMarital rape can be divided into three categories; violent rape, force-only rape and sadistic rape. Violent rape refers to the physical violence used to control the victim, apart from injuries caused by the rape itself. This includes punching or hitting the victim to make him or her comply with the act.

Force-only rape is when the abuser uses just enough force to control or place the victim into position to stop him or her from escaping. Usually, this category of rape is the most common...