India: Supreme Court Invalidates Law Allowing Sex with Child Brides
India’s Supreme Court has overturned a law that allowed a man to have sex with a girl between fifteen and eighteen years of age if the two were married. Girls under the age of eighteen may now file a complaint of rape against their husbands within one year of a sexual act. According to the BBC, women’s rights groups in India strongly support the judgment; however, others are concerned that the verdict will be difficult to enforce “in a country where child marriage is still rampant.” Additionally, other forms of marital rape not involving a minor are still legal in India.
Compiled from: India Supreme Court rules sex with child bride is rape, BBC News (October 11, 2017).
For more information
Please see the Consequences and Effects of Forced and Child Marriage and the Marital and Intimate Partner Sexual Assault pages of this website.
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