Marital rape: women are being failed

Issue remains shrouded in silence and denial in South Africa

- NYASHA KARIMAKWENDA

RAPE within marriage is still silenced in South Africa:

Though marriage rates in southern Africa have decreased over the past decades, marriage is still considered to be an ideal social tool for formalising relationships and building families. But its also an environment where spouses can be exposed to different kinds of abuse. This includes sexual abuse by their partners.

Marital rape is the term commonly used to refer to sexual violence by a partner in a marriage or former marriage. It’s a significant problem globally and is mostly committed by husbands against wives.

It’s critical that we learn more about marital rape because it’s a feature of many women’s lives. And it’s not uncommon for it to happen alongside other kinds of violence in marriages. These can include emotional, verbal, economic and physical harms.

Why so much silence?

Many cultures and legal systems around the world have supported the position that sexual violence committed by husbands against wives is not morally wrong. Or that it’s an issue that should remain within the family.

Historically, for example, Commonwealth countries inherited the marital rape exemption from England. This established that husbands could not be held criminally liable for raping their wives. Some African countries - such as Kenya, Uganda and Nigeria - still retain versions of this exemption, and marital rape is not a criminal offence there.

Added to this are existing patriarchal cultural norms across the continent that reinforce the idea that husbands are entitled to sex with their wives, whether the wife says no or not.