home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search
- $Unique_ID{BRK01568}
- $Pretitle{Community and Social Problems}
- $Title{Is Such a Thing as "Marriage Rape" Possible?}
- $Subject{rape marriage Community social date sexual intercourse oral anal
- vaginal penetration violated rapes raped sex sexually abused abuse spouse
- spousal spouses penetrated violation}
- $Volume{Q-23}
- $Log{}
-
- Copyright (c) 1991-92,1993 Tribune Media Services, Inc.
-
-
- Is Such a Thing as "Marriage Rape" Possible?
-
-
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- QUESTION: I have been reading about "date rape" that may occur on our college
- campuses. It certainly has made me think. Do you think that the same
- situations might apply to married couples, and that such a thing as "marriage
- rape" is possible?
-
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- ANSWER: Unfortunately, marital rape can and does occur. However, it's hard
- to calculate its frequency, since personal definitions of rape can vary. Some
- women consider it their marital duty to engage in sexual intercourse even when
- they do not desire it themselves, and, in such cases, a rape in this sense is
- not always easy to define.
- In general, however, I'd define marital rape as any act of intercourse
- that is forced on a wife by her husband under threat or without her consent.
- Intercourse should be defined as oral, anal, or vaginal penetration.
- Therefore, if a wife is forced to submit to sexual activity, it can be assumed
- she is being violated no matter what her relationship to the man may be, and
- despite the fact that she is married to him.
- Several years ago, a study on wife rape was performed in San Francisco.
- In a random survey of nearly a thousand women, approximately one out of every
- seven reported an attempted or completed rape by their husbands or
- ex-husbands--a surprising and sad statistic to report in answer to your
- question.
-
- ----------------
-
- The material contained here is "FOR INFORMATION ONLY" and should not replace
- the counsel and advice of your personal physician. Promptly consulting your
- doctor is the best path to a quick and successful resolution of any medical
- problem.
-