Are you a married woman living in the Commonwealth of Dominica, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados or Bahamas? Has your husband ever forcibly had sexual intercourse with you despite your clear indication that you do not consent? Well Mrs. … if you have been experiencing such abuse then depending on where you live you will be educated on the laws relating to your husband’s actions. You will know whether and at what stage he could be arrested and charged for committing an offence against you, the nature of offence your husband can be charged with and the penalties to be imposed on him if he is found guilty.
In Dominica your husband cannot be charged with rape unless the following circumstances exist in respect to your marriage:-
- You have already filed divorce proceedings and the Judge has granted a decree in your favour.
- You have filed for and received a decree of judicial separation.
- There is an order granted in your favour that he does not molest you or have sexual intercourse with you.
- A separation agreement between you and your husband.
As a wife if you report this matter to the police and want your husband to be prosecuted for it, the police would not be able to charge him unless one of the above circumstances are in place in relation to your marriage and further that sexual intercourse occurred between you in that your husband’s penis penetrated your vagina to any extent. See Sexual Offences Act No.1 of 1998 (Dominica). Note that the mere filing of the petition for divorce is not enough as the court has not made any pronouncement as yet. In the case of R v Miller (1954) 2 All ER 527 the wife filed the petition for divorce and before it was heard the husband had sexual intercourse with her without her consent. The indictment filed against him was struck out since without the petition for divorce being heard this did not amount to a revocation of the consent of marital intercourse.
Therefore if any of the requirements as set out in the Act are present and the husband forces himself on you then he could be prosecuted for so doing and if found guilty he would be liable to be imprisoned for a period of 14 years.
In essence the laws of Dominica clearly indicate that in relation to rape between spouses the relationship between husband and wife must have broken down (when the sexual act took place) to the extent where the wife has taken legal steps to withdraw her cohabitation with her husband and or terminate her marriage before he can be found guilty of having sexual intercourse with her against her will.
Historically husbands had what was called Marital Immunity. This meant that they could not be prosecuted for having sexual intercourse with their wives without their consent.
In 1736 Sir Matthew Hale the then Chief Justice of England in his “History of the Pleas of the Crown” Volume 1 page 629 stated the following:-
“…the husband cannot be guilty of a rape committed by himself upon his wife for by their mutual matrimonial consent and contract the wife hath given up herself in this kind unto her husband which she cannot retract.”
It would appear that upon marriage you gave your husband rights in relation to sexual intercourse with you. According to the case law, it would appear that even if your husband has a communicable disease and has sexual intercourse with you against your will he cannot be charged with rape or assault occasioning actual bodily harm against you. In the case of R. v Clarence (1888) 22 QBD 23 the husband had sexual intercourse with the wife knowing that he had gonorrhea. She did not know this until she contracted the disease. The court held that the conduct of the husband did not amount to the offence of assault as charged and one judge clearly stated that between married spouses rape is impossible.
When you gave your hand in marriage to your husband you gave him implied consent to have sexual intercourse with you. This is the position unless you invite the court to intervene by way of filing a petition to legally withdraw cohabitation or you and your husband have an agreement that he should not have sexual intercourse with you. If he breaches that agreement as abovementioned or ignores the court’s order, his act of having sexual intercourse with you is rape.
In Barbados the husband can be found guilty of raping his wife if he forces her to have sexual intercourse or because of fear she has sexual intercourse with him. For the offence to be committed by the husband they must be ( as in Dominica ) a separation order, decree nisi, separation agreement or the court has made order that the husband should not molest or interfere with the wife or to have sexual intercourse with her. If the husband is found guilty he could be sentenced toimprisonment for life. See Sexual Offences Act 1992 at section 3(4) Barbados
Section 3 (4) A husband commits the offence of rape where he has sexual intercourse with his wife without her consent by force or fear where there is in existence in relation to them
Cap. 214.
(a) a decree nisi of divorce;
(b) a separation order within the meaning of section 2 of the Family
Law Act;
(c) a separation agreement; or
(d) an order for the husband not to molest his wife or have sexual intercourse with her.
(5) A husband who commits the offence of rape is liable on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for life.
Also in Bahamas the laws are similar to those of Dominica except that in their legislation if the husband is aware that a petition for divorce has been filed by the wife and commits the act against her then he is guilty of the offence of sexual assault by a spouse and is liable to be sentenced to a period of 15 years imprisonment.
Section 15 of the Sexual Offences Act Chapter 99
Any person who has sexual intercourse with
his spouse without the consent of the spouse —
(a) where there is in existence in relation to them —
(i) a decree nisi of divorce;
(ii) a decree of judicial separation;
(iii) a separation agreement; or
(iv) an order of a court for the person not to
molest or co-habit with his spouse, or any
other order made under Part II; or
(b) where the person has notice that a petition for
judicial separation, divorce or nullity of
marriage has been presented to a court,
is guilty of the offence of sexual assault by spouse and
liable to imprisonment for a term of fifteen years.
Section 8 (2) refers to having sexual intercourse where the accused knows that he has HIV and the consenting party does not know, even if the consenting party consents, the accused is guilty of an offence and can be sentenced to a period of 5 years imprisonment. There is no indication that the husband and wife are included in that section. Therefore it may well be that the findings in Clarence case above dealing with gonorrhea will apply here. Except that if the requirements of the section have been met he will be guilty of the offence of rape against his wife.
However in Trinidad and Tobago the husband is not so lucky. There the legislators did not give the husband any special benefits even though he is married to the victim. The Sexual Offences Act Chapter 11:34 amended by Act No. 31 of 2000 refers to rape and indicates that if he has sexual intercourse with her without consent or reckless as to whether she consents or with consent obtained by fear, impersonation fraudulent misrepresentation or unlawful detention then the husband can be imprisoned for life. They also included section 4A which defined grievous sexual assault to include penetration of objects other than penis into the vagina, anus, mouth or by forcing an object into the penis, anus or mouth or the placing the mouth of the accused on the vagina of the virtual complainant. It was then clearly indicated that the definition of grievous sexual assault applies to husband and wife. Therefore, any nonconsensual sexual act committed by the husband against the wife will incur the same penalties as if the wife were raped or grievously sexually assaulted by a stranger.
Section 4 of the Act is repealed and the section is substituted:
(1) Subject to subsection (2), a person(“the accused”) commits the offence of rape when he has sexual intercourse with another person (‘the complainant’)—
(a)without the consent of the complainant where he knows that the complainant does not consent or
(b)with the consent of the complainant where the consent-
(i) is extorted by threat or fear of bodily harm to the complainant or to another;
(ii) is obtained by personating someone else;
(iii) is obtained by false or fraudulent representations as to the nature of the intercourse; or
(iv) is obtained by unlawfully detaining the complainant
(5) This section also applies to a husband in relation to the commission of the offence of rape on his wife.
(a) the penetration of the vagina or anus of the complainant by a body part other than the penis of the accused or third person as the case may be;
(b) the penetration of the vagina or anus of the complainant by an object manipulated by the accused or third person, as the case may be, except when such penetration is accomplished for medically recognised treatment;
(c) the placing of the penis of the accused or third person, as the case may be, into the mouth of the complainant; or
(d) the placing of the mouth of the accused or third person as the case may be, on to or into the vagina of the complainant
And at section 5 (3) of the amendment it states thus:
This section also applies to a husband in relation to the commission of the offence of grievous sexual assault on his wife.
In the United States of America most states have legislated that it is an offence for a husband to rape his wife. Those states also had Marital Immunity but in the early 1970’s the various states removed the husband’s immunity which essentially meant that if the husband committed the forceful act he is thereafter treated as if he was a stranger.
Wives, depending on the country in which you live you should familiarize yourself with the laws so you know what to do if you are the subject of sexual abuse from your husbands.
In conclusion it is clear that the penalties which can be imposed against a husband are most severe and have been put in place to deter the husband from continuing to force his wife to have sex when she expressly states that she does not consent.
Those husbands living in the Caribbean mentioned can be sentenced to periods of imprisonment ranging from 14 years to life for ravishing their wives bodies without their consent and with scant regard for the wives’ pride and dignity when doing so. Often it has been advocated that ‘no means no’ but many husbands believe that that statement does not apply to them when they decide to take their sex from their wives.
In the meantime if the requirements as stated above (except for Trinidad and Tobago) are not in place the wives are not without a remedy. They can file domestic violence proceeding against their husbands and get restraining orders to prevent continued abuse sexual or otherwise against you. This remedy is available if the wife does not want to divorce the husband but to curb his sexually abusive behavior.
Well Mrs…. now you know what to do and what will happen if you do report the incident to the police.
Hello and good evening my people. Well why is it so difficult to understand that you can’t engaged in sexual intercourse with your wife without her consent. It shouldn’t matter if a Divorce Petition is before the Court. If you don’t have that person Consent or if the person is Physically helpless, Mentally Incapacitated or the person is Under Age then one can’t engage in Sexual Intercourse with that person. We must change the laws to reflect modern times and stop putting our heads in the sand.
Men , tell me how would u all feel if a family member is being raped forcefully against her will … Say ur mother . Is that kool ? I don’t support rape . Married or not
Marriage today is a business money making thing now.
……. but with all these, there are happy marriages.
to prevent raping your wife forget about being faithful and get a few side chicks that way ur pussy appetite sure to satisfy and that when all else fail have a plastic adult model with ability to give bj and u more than safe. NO more rape. Finally, a man should be allowed to have at least three wives because these women want to commit for life but throw out the commitment once the ink dry on the paper. Everything is about women right so when a man marry sex is not a right he sign up for. Just asking?
If a or my man try that on me well i’ll beat him bad.
You people keep talking about this bible crap & what the word of the supposedly god says. i would love to know what language does god speak. The same god never intended to make woman,it’s after he realized that man needed a companion he made woman.i don’t know if he was confused or what. then wen he created the woman she was deemed a help for him not his equal. I would figure an all knowing god would know for sure that man needed woman but i guess he is not all knowing after all
Pure rubbish that will only increase violence no man can rape his own wife as the Bible say’s they twain shall be come one flesh
No man can rape his wife? You are a sick inhuman person. Men rape their wives all the time–don’t you read the news? How dare you try to use the bible to “prevent” the possibility of marital rape!
Dr Birdie.
Hello and good evening my people. Hello stop, please open your eye and get your head out of the sand. If you don’t have your wife consent then you can’t engage in sexual intercourse with her. It’s that simple. Stop making that book confuse you.
Dr. Birdie:
Nobody is saying that forced sex between a man and his wife never happens only that it is not rape.
Common sense should tell us that it should not happen. Too bad the law has to so articulately define this animalistic behavior to make it illegal. Sexual intercourse is suppose to be a tender loving act between a husband and wife with both seeking the pleasure and fulfilment of the other.
I do not think forced intercourse between a husband and wife should be called rape. It is wrong, wrong, wrong. But it should be looked on as sexual assault. If it must be prosecuted let it be prosecuted as sexual assault not rape. Perhaps a new charge should be created. Maybe it should be called marital sexual assault. Then in light of the fact that that they are husband and wife the judge would (if it is a male judge) – instead of sending the man away – take him into chambers and have a good talk to him. Better still the judge might also want to prescribe counseling for them both. Often in a case like this the woman has some issues.
Sincerely, Rev. Donald Hill. International Evangelist. Pastoral Counselor.
I am the man. I boss them all, save the ball heading ONE- he can have his way, anytime, any day.
It’s a shame these lawyers are more interested in destroying marriage than giving solutions. As a man myself let me make it absolutely clear that husbands / men that abuse their wives/ women, should be ashamed of themselves and wives that feel abused should find a way to walk out from that relationship to see if things will not change according to 1 Cor. 7:10-11. First of all a true biblical marriage is based on both parties being FAITHFUL to God and their spouse. Absence of faithfulness is the main cause of any form of abuse. Secondly, we must learn to love and respect each other as members of the same body.
The lawyer should remember that when man and woman got married they vowed and signed for better or worse and to freely make sex available ONLY to each other until death. Furthermore, apart from instructions and guidelines given to us in God’s word for a happy marriage, husbands and wives must also remember 1 corin 7:3 tells us that the body of each other belongs to the spouse and they should NOT defraud sex from each other. The lawyer should realize that she is not the authority on marriage but rather God’s word.
You are ridiculous. Lawyers deal with facts and laws. By stating and explaining the law, you think she is destroying marriages? Thats why professionals dont like to come outin public on issues. Its bcs of people like you
It’s because of the bible men treat women how they do. Mister servant of “god” be reminded that the bible teaches you that women are the possession of a man just like his house,his ox his ass his male or female servant. Read the 10th commandment properly & prove me to be a liar. Even the 7th commandment states “thou shalt not commit adultery when the style of marriage at the time was polygamy.this is really laughable to any thinker. It is high time women start eyeing treated as equals & not jus property. U ever wonder why the earth is referred to as mother earth & nature as mother nature? That’s because they operate in the feminine.
Thanks for this article DNO
Some men use the word of God to manipulate their wives into subjection neglecting the clauses of the same word which declares that a husband should love his wife like God loves his church, I’m sure that God doesn’t rape his church. He has given us each our choices to say no or yes and even when we do not comply to his will he still loves us, he doesn’t go holding us against our will and forcing himself onto us like some ministers of the gospel themselves do in an attempt to “convert” people to Christianity.
Paul said that we should not withhold the marriage bed from our partners, but I’m sure if Paul was living in our times where infidelity is the new style and sexually transmitted diseases were on the rise, he would add something to the effect of “unless you know you will be destroying your wife or your husband knowing that you have not been faithful.”
Trust that you remember that they stoned a lady for adultery and they did nothing to the men who committed adultery because the customs of the time was that a woman is a man’s property.
I love Trinidad laws because it’s currant and updated and takes into consideration the abuse of the times. You cannot tell me as my husband, I just had a hard day of work, I’m menstruating and have serious abdominal cramps and because you are horny you will forcefully have sex with me and then say you love me. My friends that can never be love!! Never!!
Just so sad this article because it makes it sounds like only men force women. That is not true. As a man I’ve had situations when women force sex on me when I tell them I don’t want. So it goes both ways
you are a funny guy
Some good legal education here.
According to this article, MEN are going to get LUCKY and RAPE and MOLEST their wives, and GET AWAY WITH IT.
It is a CRIME to RAPE and/or MOLEST your wife. Come on people, do you have any idea what it feels like to have someone PENETRATING your body WITHOUT YOUR CONSENT?
This is the 21st century.
I FEEL YOUR PAIN WOMEN. No wonder some men think when a woman, wife or otherwise, say “NO” they mean yes. NO, when a woman say “NO” that is what it is meant to be.
MEN, “NO” DO NOT MEAN “YES”.
According to this article and the SO-CALLED LAWS, after marriage a man can RAPE and MOLEST his WIFE many times over and there is nothing she can do. WHERE IS THE RESPECT.
I hope that REAL MEN, THOSE THAT KNOW BETTER and RESPECT THEIR WIVES, WILL NOT TAKE ADVANTAGE of their WIVES in that capacity. YOU WILL BE OVERLY RESPECTED BY YOUR WIVES AND/OR WOMEN IN YOUR LIVES. CONGRATULATIONS FOR RESPECTING YOUR FEMALE PARTNERS.
You lawyers are soooo anti men as if the husband is always the abusive one, the bad one and the rapist. As a servant of God I have dealt with many cases where the wife was the one that left her husband and children, where she was the abuser of the husband, where she was the one that forced herself on the husband, and where she was the one that forced her husband penis inside of her. But you see, you lawyers will find a way to always blame the man. I sure do not advocate or encourage husbands to abuse their wives in anyway, shape, of form because women by nature are too precious to be abused by a man that is supposed love them and defend them. However, women should also learn to love and respect their husbands, as commanded by God and not look for opportunities to destroy him or see him go to jail as being advocated by these greedy lawyers
Well said. It ought to be fair across the board – not just for women! And yes, I am female.
It’s for reasons such as those above I as a member of the clergy and licensed marriage officer will not waste time to marry anyone. A Christian marriage is based on God’s word and the Almighty’s definition and of marriage. Of late marriage has become a legal business instead of a spiritual commitment to each other before God, till death. The fact that it has become a legal matter more than what God’s word says, I suggest that man and woman should just forget about that expensive thing called ‘Church wedding’ and instead let them go and get married at the courts or in a lawyer’s office instead of in the presence of God and witnesses. These greedy lawyers that are busy to destroy marriages will sure have to answer many questions before God, because the bible that we base our vows on still says that husband / wife is bound to each other as long as they are alive
In the case of R v Miller (1954) 2 All ER 527 the wife filed the petition for divorce and before it was heard the husband had sexual intercourse with her without her consent