You have no items in your shopping cart.
ABSTRACT
Spousal rape is a situation where a man has sexual intercourse with his wife, to whom he is lawfully married without her consent. This research examines the incidences of marital rape in Nigeria and the need for implementation of legislations combating marital rape. The research examines the constituents of marital rape under international convention, statutes and Nigerian legislative laws. The research shows that Nigerian statutes and legislation are however still silent as to issues of marital re. However, the research highlights the provisions of the VAPP Act, introduced to remedy the lapses in the Criminal and Penal Codes, and notes the imminent flaws in the laws because of their overly formalist approach to equality and evidentiary procedures in sexual assault cases. Given the plural nature of Nigeria as well as roles cultural and religious practices play in inferiorizing women, this research examines how an unequivocal criminalization of marital rape can further serve as a symbolic act to protecting married women. The research advocates a substantive-equality approach to reviewing marital rape laws in Nigeria. The research recommends that relevant laws and policies should be implemented to provide the necessary framework for penalization of marital rape. So the Criminal Code, Penal Code and other necessary relevant laws must be amended to include sections that recognize the crime of marital rape as a violation of the rights of a woman. The victims of marital rape should be given proper encouragement by the government and society to report the incident to the police, by creating a more welcoming environment among law enforcement agencies and also the general public at large.
