Marital Rape in Kenya
THE CASE OF MARITAL RAPE IN KENYA
Kenya being a plethora of cultures, home to many citizens of the world, with this comes along new awareness as regards to human rights law and practices.
The question of marital rape which is being experienced daily in Kenyan homes has arisen and the debate about its legality has arisen and is one of the under-reported violent crimes because it is socially tolerated sexual abuse.
This definition conflicts with the traditional concept that marriage gives an automatic consent. It reflects the realities that there are situations where one cannot enjoy his or her conjugal rights, these situations may include; where the partner is suffering from an ailment, where there is fear of contraction of a terminal illness from the other partner, physical injury of one of the partners, advanced stage of pregnancy and any other related scenarios that may lead to the other partner not being able to necessitate the enjoyment of conjugal rights.
The stereotypical image of rape is non-consensual sex with a stranger, occurring in a strange and unsafe location. Because of this perception, a victim or her society may not recognize the crime of rape when her sexual partner of many years demands sex without her consent. Intimate partner violence is often systemic and abused women are afraid to report the violence because they rely financially on their husbands for their upkeep and children's maintenance while others feel unable to speak out due to fear and humiliation. Marital rape happens frequently, causing health problems, pain and distress to abused women. Children in households where marital rape occurs often suffer from the psychological effects of witnessing violence, and because it can undermine the ability of their mothers to care for them.
Marital rape is not a crime in Kenya, it is therefore difficult to obtain accurate statistics on sexual violence against women in the home. In 2003, the first government survey, Kenyan Demographic and
Kenya being a plethora of cultures, home to many citizens of the world, with this comes along new awareness as regards to human rights law and practices.
The question of marital rape which is being experienced daily in Kenyan homes has arisen and the debate about its legality has arisen and is one of the under-reported violent crimes because it is socially tolerated sexual abuse.
This definition conflicts with the traditional concept that marriage gives an automatic consent. It reflects the realities that there are situations where one cannot enjoy his or her conjugal rights, these situations may include; where the partner is suffering from an ailment, where there is fear of contraction of a terminal illness from the other partner, physical injury of one of the partners, advanced stage of pregnancy and any other related scenarios that may lead to the other partner not being able to necessitate the enjoyment of conjugal rights.
The stereotypical image of rape is non-consensual sex with a stranger, occurring in a strange and unsafe location. Because of this perception, a victim or her society may not recognize the crime of rape when her sexual partner of many years demands sex without her consent. Intimate partner violence is often systemic and abused women are afraid to report the violence because they rely financially on their husbands for their upkeep and children's maintenance while others feel unable to speak out due to fear and humiliation. Marital rape happens frequently, causing health problems, pain and distress to abused women. Children in households where marital rape occurs often suffer from the psychological effects of witnessing violence, and because it can undermine the ability of their mothers to care for them.
Marital rape is not a crime in Kenya, it is therefore difficult to obtain accurate statistics on sexual violence against women in the home. In 2003, the first government survey, Kenyan Demographic and