Talk:Marital rape/Country lists

20th and 21st century criminalization
As the concept of human rights has developed, the belief of a marital right to sexual intercourse has become less widely held. In 1965, Sweden altered its statutes so that husbands could be charged for raping their wives. In December 1993, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights published the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women. This establishes marital rape as a human rights violation. This is not fully recognized by all UN member States. In 1997, UNICEF reported that just 17 States criminalized marital rape. In 2003, UNIFEM reported that more than 50 States did so. In 2006, the UN Secretary General found "Marital rape may be prosecuted in at least 104 States. Of these, 32 have made marital rape a specific criminal offence, while the remaining 74 [sic] do not exempt marital rape from general rape provisions. Four States criminalize marital rape only when the spouses are judicially separated."

Countries which were early to criminalize marital rape include Poland (1932), Czechoslovakia (1950), the Soviet Union (1960), Denmark (1960), Sweden (1965), Norway (1971), and some other members of the Communist Bloc. The Israeli Supreme Court affirmed that marital rape is a crime in a 1980 decision, citing law based on the Talmud. Criminalization in Australia began with the state of New South Wales in 1981, followed by all other states from 1985 to 1992. Several formerly British-ruled countries followed suit: Canada (1982), New Zealand (1985), and Ireland (1990).

Many United States rape statutes formerly precluded the prosecution of spouses, including estranged or even legally separated couples. In 1975, South Dakota removed this exception. In 1993, North Carolina became the last state to remove the spousal exemption. However, as of 1999, 33 of 50 U.S. states regard spousal rape as a lesser crime [Bergen, 1999]. The perpetrator may be charged with related crimes such as assault, battery, or spousal abuse. There are other criminal charges that may be inapplicable to married couples. For example, in the U.S., there is a marriage exemption to the charge of statutory rape even if one of the spouses is under the age of consent in the jurisdiction where the sexual act takes place.

Germany outlawed spousal rape only in 1997, which is later than other developed countries. Female ministers and women's rights activists lobbied for this law for over 25 years.

In India, the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005 (passed August 2005; entered into force October 2006) created a civil remedy for victims, but it did not criminalize marital rape, and jail time is only considered if a court order has been violated.

Thai legal scholar Taweekiet Meenakanit voiced his opposition to legal reforms that made spousal rape in Thailand a crime. He said it was "abnormal logic" to allow a man to file a rape charge against a woman. He also disagrees with making a crime of a husband raping his wife, on the grounds that this would be difficult to effect since many Thai wives were dependent on their husbands and would not want to divorce them or put them in jail.

Recent countries to criminalize marital rape include Turkey (2005), Mauritius (2007),, Ghana(1998/2007), Malaysia (2007), , Thailand (2007), Rwanda (2009) , South Korea (2009), and Jamaica (2009). Human rights observers have criticized a variety of countries—including Japan, Poland , and Kazakhstan —for failing to effectively prosecute marital rape once it has been criminalized.

Countries that have made spousal rape a criminal offence
Albania, Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Bhutan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Cape Verde, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Macedonia, Mexico, Namibia, Nepal, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, The Philippines, Poland, Peru, Republic of the Congo, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Taiwan, Trinidad and Tobago, United Kingdom, United States, Uzbekistan, Zimbabwe

Countries that have not made spousal rape a criminal offence
Afghanistan, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Zambia, Malaysia, India Malta??

By source
Albania, Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Bhutan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Cape Verde, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Macedonia, Malaysia, Mexico, Namibia, Nepal, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, The Philippines, Poland, Peru, Republic of the Congo, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Taiwan, Trinidad and Tobago, United Kingdom, United States, Uzbekistan, Zimbabwe

Note: the State Department reference is unclear. So I'm keeping a running list of countries whose criminalization is only sourced to this reference: Albania, Andorra, Angola, Argentina, Brazil, Cape Verde, Chile, Costa Rica, Dominica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Fiji, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau,  Hong Kong, Macedonia,  Republic of the Congo. Other sources contradict criminalization claimed by the State Department in these cases: Honduras, Pakistan.

South Africa, The Philippines, Cyprus, Sweden, Gambia, Mauritania, Namibia, Seychelles, Bhutan, Nepal, Palau, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Poland, Russian Federation, Slovenia, Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, Venezuela, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, ((India)) .Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States

Article on Southern Africa: Lesotho, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania and Zimbabwe Also, Swaziland. Tanzania (for separated couples only) Zimbabwe (but prosecution requires approval of the Attorney General)

International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights: Armenia, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Slovakia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan

Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Ireland.

Israel

Nicaragua (1996)

Greece, Italy, Netherlands, San Marino, Serbia

Somalia (1964; other sources seem to contradict for the current situation), Laos (1965), Portugal (1982), India (1983), Canada (1985), Tonga (1987; seems to have been overturned in 1987 or 1999, see below), Austria (1989), Malaysia (1989), Ireland (1990), Bahamas (1991; contradictory information below), Netherlands (1991), Peru (1991), Barbados (1992), Switzerland (1992), South Africa (1993), Antigua and Barbuda (1995), Sri Lanka (1995), Finland (1996), Croatia (1998), Germany (1998), Belize (1999), Namibia (2000), Trinidad and Tobago (2000), Zimbabwe (2001), Nepal (2002), Serbia (2002), Lesotho (2003), Palau (2004), Liberia (2005), Saint Lucia (2005).

Individual references: Recent countries to criminalize marital rape include Turkey, Mauritius, Ghana, Malaysia, Thailand, Rwanda, South Korea,, and Jamaica

Cuba, Colombia (criminalized 1996; aggravating factor (greater punishment) by 2001), Cambodia (Law on Prevention of Domestic Violence Protection of Victims; 2005),

Papua New Guinea (2003)

By continent
North America: Canada, United States

Latin America & the Caribbean: Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, Saint Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela

Africa: Gambia, Ghana, Lesotho, Liberia, Mauritania, Mauritius, Namibia, Rwanda,Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, Zimbabwe

Europe: Armenia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russian Federation, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom

Asia: Bhutan, Cambodia, Israel, Kazakhstan, Laos, Malaysia, Nepal, The Philippines, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Uzbekistan

Oceania: Australia, New Zealand, Palau, Papua New Guinea

Countries that have not made spousal rape a criminal offence
Afghanistan

Bahamas

Pakistan

Yemen

India

Zambia

Honduras (Note: this contradicts the unspecified State Department material)

Sri Lanka (except in cases of separation) (Note: this contradicts the unspecified State Department material and the UN material)

Nigeria, Kenya, Yemen, Sudan, Ethiopia

Tanzania (unless separated), Botswana, Zambia, and Malawi

Tonga — Second reference states that marital rape law was overturned in 1999; first states that legislation of 1987 inserted a marital rape exemption. Consistent with earlier criminalization.

Saudi Arabia

Bahamas india Jordan, Egypt

Syria

Laos

Algeria, Bahrain, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Syria

Democratic Republic of Congo

Mali


 * Liberia
 * Libya

Conflicting information
Bangladesh