Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) gives a husband the privilege to have sexual intercourse with his wife against her consent as if she is above 18 years of age, it will not be considered as rape. But data collected by the National Family Health Survey 4 for the year 2015-16 is reason enough for the necessary criminalization of marital rape.

Under the NFHS 4 survey, which is conducted for research on various aspects of women’s empowerment and domestic violence, men were asked some specific questions about sexual violence used in a marriage.

To start with, men were asked that if a woman refuses when her husband displays his desire to have sex, does that give him the right to

1. a) use force and have sex with her against her consent
2. b) get angry and reprimand her
3. c) refuse to give her money or other means of financial support.

And their reactions were, to say the least, concern-worthy.

Nine out of every 100 men, at an all India level, agreed to the fact that a husband can use force and have sex with his wife forcefully.

It also found that 11 out of every 100 men agreed that a husband can refuse financial support to his wife if she refuses to have sex with him.  

A husband has the right to get angry and reprimand his wife if she refuses sexual intercourse, found the survey to be true for 18 out of every 100 men across India.

During the survey, men were also asked if his wife refuses to have sex with him then he is justified in hitting or beating her and it was found that nine out of every 100 men across India agreed to it.

A wife may refuse due to tiredness or because of her mood, but the survey reported that 15 out of every 100 men in India find that she is not justified in doing so.

The next respondents were married women aged between 15-49 years of age who were asked whether their husbands have ever physically forced them to have sexual intercourse with them against their will,  forced them with threats, physically or in any other way to perform any other sexual acts.

The results presented by the survey are in direct contradiction to the argument made by the Centre when it disagreed with criminalizing marital rape saying that it would be used to harass husbands, destroying the institution of marriage. The data proves that ‘a no means no’ and so, any sexual act by the husband without the consent of the wife, irrespective of her age, needs to be criminalized.
H/T: Huffington Post