memorandum to the special select committee on penal code

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APPENDIX Legislation Against Marital Rape: o<strong>the</strong>r countries Introduction Recently, marital rape has become a contentious issue in Malaysia, with some parties advocating <strong>the</strong> abolition of <strong>the</strong> Penal Code’s marital rape exception and o<strong>the</strong>r parties upholding <strong>the</strong> conjugal rights of a husband. There are however, no just arguments for <strong>the</strong> raping of one’s wife: marital rape is a form of violence against women that is unequivocally wrong and should be criminalised. The experience of countries in Asia and around <strong>the</strong> world has been that legislating against marital rape exception is <strong>the</strong> first step in raising awareness and changing attitudes about <strong>the</strong> injustice of marital rape. While marital rape itself has not been eliminated in <strong>the</strong>se countries, governments have at least taken a step <strong>to</strong> recognize it as a violation of a person’s rights and declared it a criminal act. Public awareness and knowledge that marital rape is a crime for which husbands may be prosecuted can be an effective deterrent <strong>to</strong> marital rape. 1 The following sections will first outline <strong>the</strong> nature and prevalence of marital rape, and <strong>the</strong>n discuss <strong>the</strong> current status of marital rape under Malaysian laws. The remainder of <strong>the</strong> paper will present information about marital rape laws around <strong>the</strong> world. Types of marital rape Generally, researchers have classified marital rape in<strong>to</strong> three types: battering rape, forceonly rape, and sadistic / obsessive rape. 2 The first type is “battering rape”, which describes <strong>the</strong> experience of women who are <strong>the</strong> victims of physical beatings and forced sex, often combined with verbal degradation. Far more force than necessary is used <strong>to</strong> overcome <strong>the</strong>ir victims and <strong>the</strong> forced sex appears <strong>to</strong> be just one part of <strong>the</strong> hostility. The sexual assault may occur during or after <strong>the</strong> battering. A second and equally common type of marital rape is “force-only rape”, in which <strong>the</strong> husband uses only as much force as is necessary <strong>to</strong> coerce his wife in<strong>to</strong> sex. This coercion often involves just using his greater weight, size, and strength <strong>to</strong> hold her down. It sometimes includes twisting an arm behind her back or holding a pillow over her face. As terrifying as such bodily force can be, <strong>the</strong> husband’s purpose does not appear <strong>to</strong> be <strong>the</strong> infliction of physical injury, but ra<strong>the</strong>r <strong>the</strong> overpowering of resistance. Although marital 1 For example, one article from <strong>the</strong> United States discusses an interview with Ross, a businessman who used forced sex as a weapon against his wife. The article continues, “Ross admits that had spousal rape been a crime for which he could have been prosecuted at <strong>the</strong> time of this act, he probably would have resisted <strong>the</strong> forced encounter”. Lisa R. Eskow (1996), “The Ultimate Weapon: Demythologizing Spousal Rape and Reconceptualizing Its Prosecution”, Stanford Law Review 48, 677-709. 2 Sarah M. Harless (2003), “From <strong>the</strong> bedroom <strong>to</strong> <strong>the</strong> courtroom: <strong>the</strong> impact of domestic violence law on marital rape victims”, 35 Rutgers L. J. 305; Raquel Kennedy Bergen (1999), “Marital Rape”, VAWNet Applied Research Forum, http://www.vaw.umn.edu/documents/vawnet/mrape/mrape.pdf 28
ape and domestic violence are often associated, <strong>the</strong> existence of “force-only rape” demonstrates that marital rape must be viewed as a problem distinct from domestic violence. At <strong>the</strong> brutal end of <strong>the</strong> continuum is “obsessive rape”, which is <strong>the</strong> least prevalent but most cruel. The husbands tend <strong>to</strong> be hypersexed, perverse and often involved with pornography. The victim’s suffering often becomes a source of pleasure for <strong>the</strong> perpetra<strong>to</strong>r. The victims of obsessive rapes are unwilling participants who are forced in<strong>to</strong> sex without <strong>the</strong>ir consent and despite <strong>the</strong>ir resistance. Marital rape statistics Statistics demonstrate that most of <strong>the</strong> rapes that occur in Malaysia and around <strong>the</strong> world are not perpetrated by strangers. For example, a study conducted on 133 sexual offenders at Kajang and Sungai Buloh prisons found that only 20% of sexual offenders committed those offences against strangers. The remaining number of sexual offences, 80%, were against victims known <strong>to</strong> <strong>the</strong> offenders: 30% against friends, 23% against daughters, 16% against relatives, 8% against neighbours and 1.5% against siblings. 3 These statistics are echoed in a 1999 Australian study in which 80 percent of all victims knew <strong>the</strong> offender. 4 An All Women’s Action Society (AWAM) study reports that between 2000 and 2002, 52% of women who had been subjected <strong>to</strong> domestic violence had been forced in<strong>to</strong> sex by <strong>the</strong>ir husbands and, physical force was used during sexual intercourse. Similar statistics were also seen in <strong>the</strong> Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO) National Research on Domestic Violence (1989-1992). 5 Women who are raped by <strong>the</strong>ir husbands are likely <strong>to</strong> be raped many times – often 20 times or more. 6 In a 1999 Australian study, 47% of married / de fac<strong>to</strong> married women had been victimised two or more times, compared with 18% of never married victims. 7 One study in <strong>the</strong> United States found that stranger rape survivors reported an average of 1.3 rapes each while women raped by husbands or ex-husbands reported an average of 13.2 rapes each. 8 3 Zarizana Abdul Aziz, “Family Cannot be a Place of Violence”, WCC Penang, 16 September 04, http://www.wccpenang.org/Family%20cannot%20be%20a%20place%20of%20violence.htm 4 Denise Lievore (2003), “Intimate Partner Sexual Assault: The Impact of Competing Demands on Victims’ Decisions <strong>to</strong> Seek Criminal Justice Solutions”, Australian Institute of Criminology, http://www.aic.gov.au/conferences/o<strong>the</strong>r/lievore_denise/2003-02-AIFS.pdf, citing Australian Bureau of Statistics 1999, Crime and Safety Australia, April 1998. 5 Memorandum on Laws Related To Rape: Proposals for Amendments, Submitted by <strong>the</strong> Anti-Rape Task Force September 2003 6 Raquel Kennedy Bergen (1999), “Marital Rape”, VAWNet Applied Research Forum, http://www.vaw.umn.edu/documents/vawnet/mrape/mrape.pdf, citing Raquel Kennedy Bergen (1996), Wife Rape: Understanding <strong>the</strong> response of survivors and service providers, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage; David Finkelhor & Kersti Yllo (1985), License <strong>to</strong> rape: sexual abuse of wives, New York: Holy, Rinehart, & Wins<strong>to</strong>n; Diana Russell (1990), Rape in Marriage, New York: Macmillan Press. 7 Denise Lievore (2003), “Intimate Partner Sexual Assault: The Impact of Competing Demands on Victims’ Decisions <strong>to</strong> Seek Criminal Justice Solutions”, Australian Institute of Criminology, http://www.aic.gov.au/conferences/o<strong>the</strong>r/lievore_denise/2003-02-AIFS.pdf, citing Australian Bureau of Statistics 1999, Crime and Safety Australia, April 1998. 8 Patricia Mahoney (1999), “High Rape Chronicity and Low Rates of Help-Seeking Among Wife Rape Survivors in a Non-Clinical Sample: Implications for Research and Practice”, Violence Against Women 5(9), 993-1016. 29
Page 1 and 2: MEMORANDUM TO THE SPECIAL SELECT CO
Page 3 and 4: I. INTRODUCTION The Joint Action Gr
Page 5 and 6: References to <str
Page 7 and 8: Prosecutor can acq
Page 9 and 10: 6. Standard amount for compensation
Page 11 and 12: II. COMMENTS The Need to</s
Page 13 and 14: Today there are ma
Page 15 and 16: II. Section 3 & Section 51 Applicab
Page 17 and 18: Recommendation : That Section 77 no
Page 19 and 20: persons due to o<s
Page 21 and 22: 4. DOMESTIC VIOLENCE LEGISLATION In
Page 23 and 24: 2. Proposed Amendments to</
Page 25 and 26: to wait for police
Page 27 and 28: Protection Order on offender within
Page 29: III. CONCLUSION For nearly two deca
Page 33 and 34: is also excluded from the</
Page 35 and 36: China The PRC law provides: It is a
Page 37 and 38: outside of marriage. 32 New Zealand
Page 39: and society’s evolving respect fo

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