Should Marital Rape be punished in the Same as Non-marital Rape?

Toree McKinney
Many times in my life I have known people that have had to deal with sexual assault,
including myself, my friends and my sisters. By the time I was thirteen years old I had to deal
with sexual assault an uncountable amount of times. In my sophomore year of high school I
learned that many of my friends, many of the people that I loved and cared about had also dealt
with the same things as me. I began to realize that sexual assault was more common than I
thought; I had been around so many people that had also been sexually assaulted and thought that
no one would understand that I was the only one that knew how it felt. But I came to realize that
many women have and will deal with this in their lifetime.
Sexual assault is something that is very common, and it is way more common among
people who know the offender, including family members, friends, partners and spouses. Does
that make it okay? People's response would typically be no, that just because you know them it
doesnt make it okay. What makes marital rape different?
According to a study done with support by The National Institute of Justice and the
Department of Defense in 2011 One in five women surveyed said they had been raped or had
experienced an attempted rape at some point, and one in four reported having been beaten by an
intimate partner... (Caryn 1). In 2011 there was already a large amount of women that reported
that they had been a victim of rape or an attempted rape, but it is also known that many women
dont report it when they are raped. As of 1998, an estimated 17.7 million American women had
been victims of attempted or completed rape. As of 2016 about one in three women will
experience a sexual assault in their lifetime (RAINN 1). The numbers of women being sexually
assaulted is rising. A survey also shows that women are more likely to be sexually assaulted by
someone they are close to rather than someone they dont know about four of every five
sexually assaulted women were attacked by a current or former husband, cohabiting partner,
friend, or date. Strangers committed only about one of every five of the assaults that were
reported in this survey (National Crime Victimization Survey). Only one of five women who
report sexual assault says it was someone they dont know, showing that sexual assault is most
commonly done by someone you know. Many women will experience marital-rape, but it often
goes unreported and unpunished, or when it is reported the offender serves very minimal time in
prison. Often times it is punished as abuse or domestic violence rather than rape, meaning that
these offenders will not be in the system as a sexual predator.
Women who are sexually assaulted also experience major depressive disorder. Women
often times also experience PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), and have very vivid
memories of what happened In the first few days and weeks following the assault, it is very
normal for a woman to experience intense and sometimes unpredictable emotions. She may have
repeated strong memories of the event that are difficult to ignore, and nightmares are not

uncommon. Women also report having difficulty concentrating and sleeping, and they may feel
jumpy or on edge. While these initial reactions are normal and expected, some women may have
severe, highly disruptive symptoms that make it very difficult to function in the first month
following the assault. When these problems disrupt the woman's daily life, and prevent her from
seeking assistance or telling friends and family members(National Center for PTSD).
Continuing to live and be with the person that sexually assaulted them often times can make the
symptoms more extreme.

Rabin, Roni Caryn. "Nearly 1 in 5 Women in U.S. Survey Say They Have Been Sexually
Assaulted." NY Times. NY Times, 14 Dec. 2011. Web. 13 Oct. 2016.