Abstract
Marital rape has been a topic that does not receive the awareness it needs. About 14% of married women experience marital rape in the United States, and of that fourteen percent, 77% of those cases go unreported. Women experience post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, higher levels of anger, fear, and guilt, and begin to hate their bodies, therefore causing their self-esteem to drop. Despite the argument that women who are raped by their husbands suffer less because they have already consented to having sexual relations, it is the opposite. Marital rape victims suffer more severe psychological consequences and for a longer period than those who were raped or assaulted by a stranger. Women who suffer from intimate personal violence are also more likely to experience marital rape throughout their marriage. There must be more awareness and support groups that are accessible for the victims to receive help.
Recommended Citation
Victorio, Brisa
(2023)
"The Effects of Marital Rape on a Woman’s Mental Health,"
Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science: Vol. 11
:
Iss.
2
, Article 4.
https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/themis/vol11/iss2/4
