Man jailed for raping wife

Press, 27 September 1983, Page 12

Man jailed for raping wife

NZPA staff correspondent London

A man has been sentenced to three years imprisonment for raping his wife in one of a handful of cases which skirt round English common law, where “marital rape” does not exist.

Despite moves to amend the Sexual Offences Act, the law still stands that a husband cannot rape his wife, dating back to the law book of 1678 which decreed that a woman must “submit herself’ totally to her husband.

Exception has been made in recent times when a decree nisi or separation order has the effect of suspending the ordinary relationship between husband and wife. In the most recent case, the wife had already obtained a court order forbidding her husband to molest her.

The 32-year-old railway worker, from Brighton, had pleaded guilty, saying he wanted to have sex “one last time” before their 11year marriage ended in divorce.

The defence barrister, Mr Simon Colfart, said: “He didn’t realise the court order made intercourse between two married people a crime of rape.” Judge John Gower told the husband in Brighton Crown Court: “You knew perfectly well that she did not welcome what happened and you used violence on her. Prison is the only ap-

propriate way to deal with you.” The Law Society spokesman, commenting on the case, said: “This is not a commonplace offence. Presumably this prosecution was brought because it was a particularly nasty case.”

So far there have been several cases reported in the last decade where a husband has been imprisoned, but initiatives taken to outlaw marital rape have been rebuffed. In 1972, a report by senior police officers urged a law change so that wives could accuse husbands of rape. But in 1975, Judge Hines of the Old Bailey, cleared a man, saying that a husband could have sexual intercourse with his wife whenever he pleased. Since 1980, when legal groups officially stated that wives should have protection, the Criminal Law Revisions Committee has been working on the law concerning rape but has not progressed past “the green

paper.” In April this year a private member’s bill to make rape within marriage a criminal offence, introduced by Labour M.P., Mr John Tilley, was dropped just before Parliament dissolved for the General Election. More than 150 women’s groups throughout the cduntry are reported to be campaigning for a change in the law and it is claimed that there will be another private member’s bill on this within the next two months.