Many kinds of abuses such as physical and sexual abuse are not recognized as violence both by the victims and the law. A similar case is with a sexual assault that is considered as the right of the husband to -access his wife sexually. Man commits the rape with a woman if he has sexual intercourse with following conditions:
- Against woman’s will
- Without her consent
- Taking consent by putting her in fear of hurt or death
- Getting consent despite being not married but because a woman believes that marriage will happen
- With or without consent if she is under sixteen years of age
Thus, it is a clear crystal that the intercourse can be a form of rape in multiple conditions and but society does not consider marital rape to be talked openly and thus it continues to be a hidden sin. The basic problem lies in the fact that victim is not aware of the situation of being raped. Victims are not able to name the sufferings as society refuses presence of such acts. In case a woman tries to speak up, she is hushed by the family members and friends who pressurized her into silence even if the victim tries to seek help. It is considered to be a humiliation for the man when the woman raises her voice to get rights. On the other hand, the issue is still not discussed openly as a victim herself does not admit the fact of being raped by the husband. Also, because of under-developed laws and regulations regarding marital rape, it is impossible to prove marital rape in the court. Thus, a woman chooses not to get humiliated by accepting publicly that she is raped by the person who is meant to protect her.
Like any rape case generally, to talk about the problem of wife rape is not easy. It is difficult to define that what action should be acknowledged as ‘rape’. The most basic definition of rape is the act of sexual contact that is done forcefully. However, the actions of sexual contact must be determined. Marital rape can be defined as any act of sexual penetration that is undesirable for example, oral, vaginal or anal, or when no positive response is given by the women or by contacting with the sexual organs that are done by the help of physical force. Sexual abuse is also included in the sexual contact for instance when the wife is forced by her husband to involve in sexual contact with a different person.