This article provides an overview of marital rape laws by country.

Overview

Marital rape is illegal in many countries. Throughout history until the 1970s, most states granted a husband the right to have sex with his wife whenever he so desired, as an integral part of marriage. However, in the 20th century and especially since the 1970s, women's rights groups initiated the anti-rape movement, demanding that they be given sexual autonomy over their own bodies, including within marriage. These rights have increasingly been recognised, and consequently marital rape has been criminalised by about 150 countries as of 2019. In some cases, marital rape is explicitly criminalised, in other cases the law makes no distinction between rape by one's husband or rape by anyone else. In a few countries, marital rape was criminalised due to a court decision. In some countries, the prevailing logic goes that there is no such thing as 'marital rape', since the verb 'to rape' (Latin: rapere) originally meant 'to steal' or 'to seize and carry off' (although its meaning shifted during the Middle Ages to 'violently abducting a woman for the purpose of forced coitus'), and it is impossible to steal something you already 'own', and a husband 'owns' his wife in marriage. However, in a few of those countries that do not criminalise marital rape, such as Malaysia, a husband can still be punished if he uses violence in order to have sex with his wife.

In India, There was made an Act named Prevention of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 which came into effect in 2006. The Act also includes Sexual Abuse which is defined as any sexual act which harms the dignity of a woman. Marital rape was included in the sexual abuse.

After the passage of the Law - Protection of Women from Domestic Violence, 2005, the percentage of females who faced sexual violence by their husbands decreased from 10% in 2005-06 to 6% in 2019-21.

A Country Criminalised Notes Afghanistan The 2009 Law on Elimination of Violence against Women (EVAW) does not exclude spousal rape in its section on Sexual Assault.Afghanistan: Law on Elimination of Violence against Women (EVAW) (2009) However, Article 134 (2) of the Shia Personal Status Law states "It is the duty of the wife to defer to her husband's inclination for sexual enjoyment".Afghanistan: Shia Personal Status Law (2008) Albania The Criminal Code was amended in 2012 and 2013 to criminalise marital rape. (Article 102.)Albania: Criminal Code (1995, as amended 2015.) Algeria The law criminalises rape but does not address spousal rape. The Penal Code does not explicitly exclude marital rape from the definition of rape,Algeria Code Penal (2009) however the Algerian Family Code requires a wife to obey her husband Andorra Rape, including spousal rape can be punished by up to 15 years imprisonment. The Penal Code does not exclude marital rape from its definition of rape (Article 145).Andorra Code Pénal (2005) Angola Rape, including spousal rape, is illegal and punishable by up to eight years' imprisonment. Article 170 of the Código Penal explicitly includes a spouse in its definition of rape.Angola Código Penal Antigua and Barbuda Article 3 (1) of the Sexual Offences Act, 1995, includes in the definition of rape: "with a female person who is not his wife".Antigua and Barbuda: The Sexual Offences Act (1995) Argentina Rape of men and women, including spousal rape, can be punished by imprisonment from six months to up to 20 years. Spousal rape is criminalised by Article 5 (3) of the Law of Comprehensive Protection of Women (Ley de Protección Integral a las Mujeres), 2009.Argentina; Law of Comprehensive Protection of Women (2009) Armenia Rape is a criminal offense, and conviction carries a maximum sentence of 15 years; general rape statutes (Article 138 of the Criminal Code)Armenia: Criminal Code (2003) applied to the prosecution of spousal rape. Australia Criminalisation in Australia began with the state of New South Wales in 1981, followed by all other states from 1985 to 1992. The government enforced the law effectively. The laws of individual states and territories provide the penalties for rape. The first Australian state to deal with marital rape was South Australia, under the progressive initiatives of Premier Don Dunstan, which in 1976 partially removed the exemption. Section 73 of the Criminal Law Consolidation Act Amendment Act 1976 (SA) read: "No person shall, by reason only of the fact that he is married to some other person, be presumed to have consented to sexual intercourse with that other person". Austria Spousal rape can be punished by up to 15 years imprisonment, and was first criminalised in 1989. The Criminal Code (§ 201) does not explicitly excludes marital rape from the definition of rape.Austria: Criminal Code (1974, as amended 2015) Azerbaijan Spousal rape is illegal, but observers stated police did not effectively investigate such claims. The Criminal Code does not exclude marital rape from its definition of rape (Articles 108, 149).Azerbaijan Criminal Code (2003)

B Country Criminalised Notes The Bahamas Rape of men or women is illegal, but the law does not protect against spousal rape, except if the couple is separated or in the process of divorce, or if there is a restraining order in place. Section 3 of the Sexual Offences Act, 2010, includes "person who is not his spouse" in the definition of rape.The Bahamas: Sexual Offences Act 2010) Bahrain Rape is illegal, although the criminal code allows an alleged rapist to marry his victim to avoid punishment. The law does not address spousal rape. Article 353 of the Penal Code explicitly excludes spousal rape.Bahrain: Penal Code (1976) Bangladesh The law prohibits rape of a female by a male and physical spousal abuse, but the law excludes marital rape if the female is above 13. Section 375 (Of Rape) of the Penal Code includes the exception: "Sexual intercourse by a man with his own wife, the wife not being under thirteen years of age, is not rape."Bangladesh: Penal Code (1860, amended to 2008) This has recently been challenged and ruled against, possibly due to poor drafting Barbados The Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 2016 modified section 3 (4) of the Sexual Offences Act 1992, removing the previous "marital exemption" and replacing it with explicit criminalisation of marital rape.Barbados: Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 2016 Belarus Article 166 of the Criminal CodeBelarus: Criminal Code (1999, amended to 2017) criminalises rape in general but does not include separate provisions on marital rape. Prosecutions for marital rape are rare and it is often regarded as a private rather than criminal issue. Belgium Marital rape was criminalised by court decision in 1979. The criminal code was amended in 1989 to treat marital rape the same as other forms of rape. (Code Pénal Art. 375)Belgium: Code Pénal (1876, amended to 2018) Belize Article 46 of the Criminal CodeBelize: Criminal Code criminalises rape of men or women, including spousal rape. The code states that a person convicted of rape shall be sentenced to imprisonment for eight years to life. Benin Article 2 of the 2011 Law Portant prévention et répression des violences faites aux femmes (For prevention and repression of violence against women),Benin: Portant prévention et répression des violences faites aux femmes (2011) explicitly prohibits spousal rape and provides the maximum penalty of 5 years imprisonment for conviction of raping a domestic partner. Bhutan Spousal rape is illegal and prosecuted as a misdemeanor. (Penal Code Sec. 199 & 200)Bhutan: Penal Code Bolivia In 2013 the government passed the Law Guaranteeing Women a Life Free from Violence (Ley Integral Para Garantizar A Las Mujeres Una Vida Libre De Violencia). Its provisions included the repeal of the marital rape exemption in the Penal Code, and making rape by a spouse an aggravating factor when sentencing, extending imprisonment by 5 years.Bolivia: Ley Integral Para Garantizar A Las Mujeres Una Vida Libre De Violencia (2013) Bosnia and Herzegovina The maximum penalty for rape, regardless of gender, including spousal rape, is 15 years in prison. The failure of police to treat spousal rape as a serious offense inhibited the effective enforcement of the law. The 2003 Penal Code removed "marital exemption" from Article 203 (Rape).Bosnia and Herzegovina: Penal Code (2003) Botswana"In the sexual offences legislation of Namibia, Lesotho, Swaziland, and South Africa, rape within marriage is illegal." The law criminalises rape but does not recognize spousal rape as a crime. Customary law holds that sex within marriage is consensual. Brazil Since 2005,Brazil: LAW No. 11,106, OF MARCH 28, 2005 the law criminalises rape of men or women, including spousal rape. (Articles 213 & 226 of the Criminal Code)Brazil: Criminal Code (1984, amended to 2018) Brunei The law does not criminalise spousal rape and Article 375 of the Penal CodeBrunei: Penal Code (2016) explicitly states that sexual intercourse by a man with his wife is not rape, as long as she is not younger than 13 years.Brunei Darussalam: Amnesty International submission to the UN Universal Periodic Review ," Sixth session of the UPR Working Group, November–December 2009. Bulgaria The law criminalises rape (Article 152 of the Criminal Code).Bulgaria: Criminal Code (1968, amended to 2018) While authorities could prosecute spousal rape under the general rape statute, they rarely did so. Burkina Faso In 2015 the government passed the Law on the Prevention and Repression of Violence Against Women and Girls and Support for Victims. Conviction of rape is punishable by five to ten years' imprisonment. Marital rape is covered by this law. Burundi Spousal rape was criminalised in 2016 by the Loi N° 1/13 du 22 septembre 2016 portant prévention, protection des victimes et répression des Violences Basées sur le Genre (Articles 2i & 27),Burundi: Loi N° 1/13 du 22 septembre 2016 portant prévention, protection des victimes et répression des Violences Basées sur le Genre with penalties of up to 30 years' imprisonment. The government did not enforce the law uniformly, and rape and other domestic and sexual violence continued to be serious problems.

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