STATE LAW CHART
© National Clearinghouse on Marital & Date Rape, May 2005

"MORE THAN 1 IN EVERY 7 WOMEN WHO HAVE EVER BEEN MARRIED HAVE BEEN RAPED IN MARRIAGE!"
--Diana Russell, Rape in Marriage, Indiana University Press, 1990

In the states directly below, a wife has the right to control her own body, and to make her own decisions about sexual access.  Her ability to say "NO" makes her "YES" choice real.  Marital rape is a crime: a husband may be prosecuted for a rape he committed on his wife while he was living with her.  In some of these states, although the degree of additional violence used may define prosecutability, her relationship to him does not (these states have no asterisk, c.f. box).

ALABAMA
ALASKA
*ARIZONA
ARKANSAS
CALIFORNIA
*COLORADO
CONNECTICUT
*DELAWARE
*FLORIDA
*GEORGIA
HAWAII
IDAHO
ILLINOIS
*INDIANA
IOWA
KANSAS
KENTUCKY
LOUISIANA
MAINE
MARYLAND
*MASSACHUSETTS
MICHIGAN
MINNESOTA
MISSISSIPPI
MISSOURI
*MONTANA
*NEBRASKA
NEVADA
NEW HAMPSHIRE
*NEW JERSEY
*NEW MEXICO
*NEW YORK
*NORTH CAROLINA
*NORTH DAKOTA
OHIO
OKLAHOMA
*OREGON
PENNSYLVANIA
RHODE ISLAND
SOUTH CAROLINA
SOUTH DAKOTA
TENNESSEE
*TEXAS
*UTAH
*VERMONT
*VIRGINIA
WASHINGTON
WEST VIRGINIA
*WISCONSIN
WYOMING
*DIST. OF COLUMBIA
*FEDERAL LANDS
•In any state (federal crime)
•1992-exemption from
military courts repealed
*Here husbands have NO EXEMPTION from rape prosecution.  Married women have protection equal to that of other victims.

 

In the states directly below, a wife does not have the right to consent, to say "YES" or "NO", to control her own body unless others (e.g. a court or society in general) give her permission.  Marital rape is not a crime.  Definition of "not married" makes possible prosecution only when they live apart or have filed for divorce or have an order of protection or have a court ordered legal separation.  The 17th c. English chief justice’s definition of "married"- a wife gives up her right to consent- is thus reinforced in these states.  He has "free" rapes until she takes action; the burden is on her to risk her life by leaving, instead of the state to remove him, due to his acts.

 

NO  MORE STATES

July 5, 1993, marital rape became a crime in all 50 states, in at least one section of the sexual offense codes, usually regarding force. May 2005! New stars: AZ/VA.  30 states still have some exemptions from prosecution for rape, e.g. when the husband does not need to use force because the wife is most vulnerable (temporarily or permanently, physically or mentally legally unable to consent)! Such marital privileges are also extended to unmarried cohabitants who sexually attack their partners in CT, DE, IA, MN & WV.

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