Legal Case In Australia that called rape in marriage "rape"? (1 Viewer)

[mg23]

hi.. i was wondering, what is the australian case that decided that rape in marriage was actually "rape"? i would appreciate the main cases internationally as well.. but what was the case called in australia?? thankyou!!!!!

 

[holofernes]

Hi,

I don't know how it happened in other jurisdictions, but in NSW this was done through an amendment to the Crimes Act in the 80's(not sure of the exact year?). and I think all Aussie jurisdictions by the 90's.

In a case called R v L (1991) 174 CLR 379, the High Court considered a challenge to a similar amendment in South Australia. It goes through the history of the exclusion of husbands from the crime of rape and gives a good background of the issue. Look it up on Austlii if you're interested. In the end the HC found that the legal amendment was valid and not inconsistent with Federal laws.

In the UK, the House of Lords conclusively rejected the proposition that husbands could not be guilty of rape in 1991 (I think the case is called R v R).

 

[Skizzors]

South Australian case, but it highlights magisterial views on rape in marriage. I think that it was appealed but I am not entirely sure what happened after that.
Justice Bollen said:
“There is, of course, nothing wrong with a husband, faced with his wife’s initial refusal to engage in intercourse, in attempting, in an acceptable way, to persuade her to change her mind, and that may involve a measure of rougher than usual handling. It may be that handling and persuasion will persuade the wife to agree. Sometimes it is a fine line between not agreeing, then changing of the mind, and consenting …”
(R v Johns, Supreme Court, SA 1992)