Esther Malariniya Issac Sitsabesan
LL. B (Department of Law, University of Jaffna)
Discourses on penalizing marital rape have significantly increased all over the world. Marital rape refers to unwanted intercourse by one spouse with the other whose consent is obtained by force, threat of force, or physical violence, or when he or she is unable to give consent. Generally, women are vulnerable to marital rape due to biological, cultural, and societal factors. In Sri Lanka, patriarchal-influenced traditional norms and beliefs recognize the man as the head of the household and his wife is considered to give irrevocable consent to sexual acts. Hence, the marriage becomes a shield for marital rape and the women in Sri Lanka do not come forward to express or seek any remedy for their grievances as they depend on their husbands for economic security, family wellbeing, social status and so on. In this context, this study intends to explore why the existing legal framework in Sri Lanka fails to penalize marital rape despite the national and international commitments to protect the rights of women. One of the strongest defences against the criminalization of marital rape is that the state cannot interfere in the private sphere of the people otherwise it would lead to the dissolution of the union which is considered sacred. Based on a desk-based analysis of existing literature and semi-structured interviews with certain women’s organizations and legal practitioners, this research emphasizes the need for the criminalization of marital rape in the light of the human rights perspective. The most effective way to achieve fundamental legal changes is to change the underlying social conditions/ attitudes that have treated women as more vulnerable. Moreover, women should be empowered economically, politically and societally and consequently, they will have power equal to that of men.
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