M'sian activists call for marital rape to be recognised as rape
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Marital rape is not recognised as rape in Malaysia, according to family law practitioner Honey Tan. "There are child marriages happening in Malaysia. So if there is a girl being raped within that marriage, it isn't considered rape," said Tan.
“What the government needs to do is take away the exception in Section 375 of the penal code,” she said.
The exception in Section 375 of the penal code states: “Sexual intercourse by a man with his own wife by a marriage which is valid under any written law for the time being in force, or is recognised in the Federation as valid, is not rape”.
“Rape should be defined as having sex with somebody without their consent. [It is a problem] when the law does not recognise that if in a marriage, a wife is forced, without her consent, into having sex with her husband – that is rape,” said Tan.
She added that there were many people who would still put the blame on the victim, instead of on the rapist.
“For example, there are people who would blame a woman who was raped on the way she dressed. If that’s the case, then what about rape victims who wore the tudung [head scarf] when it happened?” she said. “The reality is that rape is an act of violence. It is all about power and control.”
Many women’s groups in Malaysia, such as the Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO) have been lobbying for recognition of marital rape under Malaysian law.
“Being married to someone does not entitle you to have sex with that person whenever you want. Non-consensual sex is rape no matter what. A wife is not a husband’s property,” said Yu Ren Chung, an advocacy Officer at WAO. “Marital rape is a form of domestic violence, and often occurs along with other forms of abuse. Laws against domestic violence need to be enforced more effectively.”
Yu said that laws against rape in Malaysia had a very narrow definition of what constitutes rape.
Marital rape is currently not recognised as rape and is only punishable based on any potential or actual physical harm inflicted on the victim, he said.
Yu recalls that in 2006, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women committee had requested that Malaysia enact legislation criminalising marital rape, defining such rape as lack of consent of the wife.
