8Marriage Is the Best Defense: Policy on Marital Rape

Marital rape is a serious problem in this country. However, in 36 states, husbands are protected from prosecution by a marital rape exemption. The origins of this exemption are found in antiquated patriarchal concepts of women. The State is reluctant to abolish the exemption because of the fear that abolition will further the disintegration of the patriarchal family and will shift the balance of power between women and the male State. Feminist social workers must work toward the eradication of this exemption and the patriarchal structure on which it is based. Marital rape is the sexual assault by a spouse (usually a husband) on a partner (usually a wife) against the victim’s will. It is no less violent and degrading a crime than the rape of a s tranger because the victim is married to the rapist. However, until recently, state laws defined rape in this (or like) manner: &dquo;A male person who has sexual intercourse with a female not his wife by force and against her will commits rape&dquo; (Illinois Annotated Statutes, 1977; emphasis added). Laws against rape legally deny the existence of marital rape and protect husbands who sexually abuse their wives by a policy of marital rape exemption. It was not until the mid-1970s that some states modified the exemption; in 1974, Michigan passed the first law stating that a husband could not invoke the exemption if he and his wife had filed for a separation and were living apart. To date, only 13 states and the District of Columbia have abolished this exemption, and another 34 have modified it to exclude husbands when the couple is legally separated, has filed for a divorce or a separation, or is living separately (National Center on Women and Family Law, 1987). at PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIV on May 9, 2016aff.sagepub.comDownloaded from 9Marital rape is a grave crime-a crime that has not been adequately addressed by judicial and legislative policymakers in this country. This article describes the prevalence and impact of marital rape, outlines the origins and traditional argument for the marital rape exemption, examines recent judicial and legislative policies regarding marital rape, discusses some of the underlying reasons for the reluctance of policymakers to grant women the right not to be raped by their husbands, and presents some implications for social work practice