A forum denounces marital rape, “nearly one in two rapes”

Sexual Violence The French Collective Against Marital Rape calls for the abolition of the notion of “marital duty”

The signatories hope to raise awareness about this crime and in particular attack the “myth of marital duty”. (ILLUSTRATION PHOTO) — Canva

Despite the #MeToo wave, rape remains, in the collective imagination, the fruit of a crazy mind; who attacks a woman he doesn’t know, around a dark alley. And yet, the reality is a far cry from this scenario. “Nearly one in two rapes are committed by a spouse or an ex-spouse”, alerted the members of the French Collective against marital rape in a column published in the columns of Libé;liberation.

“On average, 121 women are victims of marital rape every day in France”, asserts the collective on its Instagram account. The signatories hope to raise awareness of this crime and particularly attack the “myth of marital duty”. The latter “is at the heart of the lack of notion of consent in couples”.

An “aggravating circumstance” rarely treated as such

“Many of the victims testify to having been forced by their partner but do not put the word “rape” on their experience, thinking that their spouse is within their rights. Many abusers also admit to forcing their partner, while feeling legitimate to do so under the guise of marital duty,” explains the forum. However, recalls the collective, rape between spouses is “considered; as an aggravating circumstance” since the 1980s.

However, in society as in the judicial treatment of these cases, there is still a long way to go. In 2018, the columnists of TPMP had also provoked controversy by minimizing marital rape – even by praising it, in a particularly shocking debate.

Training day and abolition of “duty conjugal”

“The majority marital rapes are not taken seriously into account by the courts and are requalified as an offense or dismissed,”s the new collective indignantly, adding that in 2016, “70% of rape cases were dismissed.

This new collective, including journalist Giulia Foïs, «  aims to raise awareness in society; consent within couples and to fight against marital rape and its consequences for women. through awareness-raising campaigns, militant actions and projects for better care for victims”. In particular, he calls for “a mandatory training day dedicated to marital rape for all public officials in contact with victims” and the definitive abolition of the notion of “conjugal duty” in the context of divorces.