NCJ Number
218011
Journal
Aggressin and Violent Behavior: A Review Journal Volume: 12 Issue: 3 Dated: May-June 2007 Pages: 329-347
Date Published
May 2007
Length
19 pages
Annotation
This paper presents a comprehensive review of marital rape, including its legal history and numerous aspects of its perpetration and victimization.
Abstract
Historically, marital rape has not been recognized as a criminal act; only recently has it become illegal in all 50 States. Marital rape is experienced by 10 to 14 percent of all married women and 40 to 50 percent of battered women. Marriages in which marital rape occurs have significantly higher rates of nonsexual violence and marital dissatisfaction, as well as lower ratings of marital quality. Victims of marital rape experience significant levels of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, gynecological problems, and negative physical health symptoms. Several theorists have attempted to explain the legal history and persistence of marital rape by adapting theories to incorporate marital rape into their framework. Marital rape can involve both the use and threat of force as well as coercion, which can be an important determinant in whether victims classify their experiences as marital rape. Although research on marital rape has been helpful in describing rates and raising awareness of this public health problem, additional work is needed that addresses the multitude of methodological problems that characterize this literature, moving beyond the documentation of the problem. The bulk of the available research on marital rape has focused on the women who are directly victimized. Little research has been conducted on those who perpetrate marital rape, as well as on interventions for perpetrators or the impact of standard interventions for abuse perpetrators. This paper focuses on the historical and legal components of marital rape, as well as research and theory on its perpetration. Specifically, it addresses (1) legal history, theories, and categories of marital rape; (2) rates and risk factors of marital rape; (3) resistance to marital rape; (4) the psychological and physical effects of marital rape; and (5) help-seeking behaviors by victims and treatments for marital rape. References