Marital Rape Exemption in Kenya: Some Lessons from International Law
There is no doubt that, despite arguments supporting marital rape exemption, it is necessary to abolish marital rape exemption in our modern society which is characterized by many sexually transmitted infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS. As Kenyan society is based on the principle of equality between men and woman, marital rape with impunity has no place. Kenya has to take some steps aimed at ending a conflict between the Sexual Offenses Act and the HIV and AIDS Prevention and Control Act in order to achieve its goals of equality and freedom from discrimination. International law has shed some light on the subject by indicating that marital rape constitutes violence against women and that Kenya should follow suit and criminalize it. However, it must be noted that the criminalization of marital rape will not provide a complete solution to the problem but only a partial solution. The root of the problem is most likely situated in poverty and the social context. Further research and public education is thus necessary into the key factors relating to the behavior of marital rape.
The Sex Right: A Legal History of the Marital Rape Exemption
How did the American legal elite come to reject the husband's privilege to rape his wife. What is the significance of that rejection. This essay traces theories justifying the marital rape exemption from the 17th century, focusing on the period following World War II. The history illustrates how the postwar legal elite's limited progressivism created inconsistent arguments that left the exemption open for attack, an attack that came from within the 1970s feminist movement. Radical feminist rhetoric about sexuality, rape, and marriage pulled away the last layer of theoretical support for the exemption and denounced the sex right it left exposed underneath. Connections in the 1970s, both literal and conceptual, between radical feminists and the legal elite allowed the feminist movement to discredit the exemption within that elite. To interpret the significance of that rejection, I consider how legal language affects people's senses of self. I argue that legal words like “rape,” “marriage,” and “husband” validate and inform people's, specifically husbands', identities in marriage. By changing the meanings of those legal words, legal reform can eventually change human behavior.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
The following are countries that have ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights since 1983: 1) Argentina, 8 August 1986; 2) Cameroon, 27 June 1984; 3) Congo, 5 October 1983; 4) Equatorial Guinea, 25 September 1987; 5) Luxembourg, 18 August 1983; 6) Niger, 7 March 1986; 7) Philippines, 23 October 1986; 8) San Marino, 18 October 1985; 9) Sudan, 18 March 1986; 10) Togo, 24 May 1984; 11) Democratic Yemen, 9 February 1987; and 12) Zambia, 10 April 1984.