One Singaporean husband convicted of sexually assaulting wife after marital rape law took effect
SINGAPORE: A Singaporean man was convicted in April of sexually assaulting his wife by penetration, becoming the only husband convicted of the offence against his wife since marital immunity for rape was fully repealed in 2020.

The Straits Times understands that no husband has been convicted of the separate offence of marital rape since the law came into effect on Jan 1 that year.

The issue of marital rape came up when Minister of State for Social and Family Development Sun Xueling said at the 88th session of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (Cedaw), held in Geneva on May 16, that Singapore had fully repealed marital immunity for rape.

Sun said: “In 2019, in line with the committee’s (Cedaw) recommendation, we fully repealed marital immunity for rape. This year, for the first time, we convicted a man for the sexual assault of his wife.”

Lawyer Sophia Ng explained that sexual assault by penetration occurs when some body part or object – other than the penis – is used to penetrate the victim without consent.

Rape happens when a man penetrates the victim’s vagina, anus or mouth with his penis without her consent. When the couple is married, this is known as marital rape, said Ng of law firm Eugene Thuraisingam LLP.

Associate Professor Mervyn Cheong, deputy director at the Centre for Pro Bono and Clinical Legal Education at the National University of Singapore Law Faculty, noted that in Singapore, the first legislative reform on the issue of marital rape happened in 2007, when there was a partial abolition of marital immunity for rape.

This was when marital rape was recognised under certain circumstances which signalled a breakdown in the marriage, such as if the couple were living apart under an interim judgment of divorce or the wife had a personal protection order against her husband.

In 2018, a committee tasked to review the Penal Code called for a “full, unqualified repeal of marital immunity for rape” to protect women from sexual abuse.

Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam said then: “A woman’s body is her own. And even if she is your wife, she is entitled to say ‘no’. And no means no.”

In 2019, marital immunity for rape was fully repealed and this came into effect in 2020. This meant that a husband who had non-consensual sex with his wife under any circumstances would be considered as having raped her, Prof Cheong said.

Husbands do not have any marital immunity for sexually assaulting their wives by penetration, lawyers say.

Prof Cheong said: “A husband, who forcefully engages in non-consensual anal or oral sex with his wife, can be prosecuted and found guilty of sexual assault by penetration.”

ST understands that the case Sun was referring to on May 16 involved a 38-year-old man who was convicted of sexually assaulting his wife by penetration and obstructing justice by asking his mother-in-law to get his wife to drop her allegations against him.

The man lived apart from his wife owing to conflict, but he sexually assaulted her when he went home for a family meeting. She fled to the toilet to hide from him, and she later filed a police report.

The couple, who are still married, have two children. The man is awaiting sentencing.

The maximum penalty for sexual assault by penetration and rape is the same. Offenders can be jailed up to 20 years and be fined or caned.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Home Affairs told ST that the 38-year-old man is the only person convicted of sexually assaulting his wife by penetration since marital immunity for rape was fully repealed and the law came into effect in 2020.

Why such cases are under-reported

Social workers and lawyers point out that marital rape and sexual assault by penetration usually occur together with other forms of domestic violence, and victims fear reporting the sexual abuse for multiple reasons. Thus, such cases are vastly under-reported.

Stefanie Yuen-Thio, founding chairwoman of SG Her Empowerment (SHE), said: “Marital rape is a deeply complex and emotionally charged issue. How humiliated might a woman feel to have to report that she didn’t want intercourse and that she could not fight off the man she chose to marry?

“Will she be believed, or will she face ridicule?”

Lawyer June Lim, director at Focus Law Asia, said victims also worry that they do not have enough evidence to prove the crime, and that their family members would blame them for getting the husband into trouble with the law and breaking up the family.

Lawyer Chan Yu Xin, a partner at WongPartnership, added that the woman’s priority is to keep herself safe, but she typically does not want her husband to go to jail. So such women typically choose to get a divorce or a personal protection order – which is a court order restraining the husband from committing violence against her – instead of reporting the crime to the police.

Frances Lee, head of Care Corner Project StART, a social service agency which specialises in tackling family violence, said that many Singaporeans are still unaware that marital rape is illegal.

She said: “They still think that the marriage certificate is an all-access pass when it comes to sex. Besides, they fear being ostracised by family, friends and the community (if they report marital rape) as they may feel that things that happen in the bedroom are not meant to be shared in the open.”

A spokeswoman for the Association of Women for Action and Research (Aware) said some women “erroneously believe” that just because their husbands did not use a lot of physical force or did not restrain them to coerce them into having sex, it is not considered rape.

Besides, some men use a variety of ways, such as intimidation and isolating their wives from other people, to coercively control their wives. Thus, it is very difficult for the women to report the abuse to the police, the Aware spokeswoman added.

Care Corner’s Lee said most of the women they see who were sexually abused were coerced into having sex as they felt they had no choice but to give in.

They include a foreign wife who was beaten repeatedly by her husband to the point that she ended up in hospital.

Among other forms of abuse, the man had insisted it was his right to have sex any time he wanted, and would prevent her from sleeping and swear at her until she gave in to his sexual demands.

Lee said: “She felt the only way to stop this torture was to give in. Is this considered consent?

“She also felt it was her duty to fulfil her husband’s sexual desire – even if she didn’t want to.”

Lawyers and social workers interviewed say that sexual abuse cuts across all socio-economic groups and nationalities.

Chan has seen cases of Singaporean women in professional jobs, who are “eloquent, well-adjusted and have good friends and families”, who were repeatedly sexually assaulted or raped by their husbands.

The men did so to punish and intimidate their wives in the midst of marital conflict, but none of these women considered reporting the crime to the police, as they did not want to destroy their husbands’ lives, Chan said.

She said of these professionals: “That they are women (whom) one would expect to be able to take care of (themselves), seems to fill these women with even more shame and guilt that they are sufferers of a crime of this variety.”

Given that marital rape is such a hidden and complex problem, the number of such cases that have occurred is anyone’s guess, said those interviewed.

Aware said it does not have specific data on marital rape, but its Sexual Assault Care Centre handled close to 800 sexual assault cases in 2023. About a quarter of these cases were committed by intimate partners, including spouses.

Social workers encourage the women to seek help from social service agencies tackling family violence to stop the abuse, even if they do not want to go to the police. - The Straits Times/ANN

Helplines: National Anti-Violence and Sexual Harassment Helpline: 1800-777-0000

Aware’s Sexual Assault Care Centre: 6779-0282
Singapore,sexual assault,marital rape,immunity,repeal,Sun Xueling,Cedaw
SINGAPORE: A Singaporean man was convicted in April of sexually assaulting his wife by penetration, becoming the only husband convicted of the offence against his wife since marital immunity for rape was fully repealed in 2020.