Forcibly sleeping with wife punishable – Experts

There is a limit to everything in this world and it is better for humans especially men to becareful of their actions and inactions that have the tendency of coming into conflict with the law.

It is, therefore, a crime for married men to forcibly have sex with their wives because marriage is not a guarantee for marital rape.

Two panelists at a stakeholders’ engagement on violence against women at Wa on Tuesday cautioned men against marital rape which according to them was punishable by law.

The panel members unanimously argued that although the general notion after marriage was that women were available for sex, there were instances they were overwhelmed by natural circumstances that did not permit sex and the husbands were expected to understand and excuse them.

The meeting formed part of a 16-days activism for the commemoration of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and Children and was held by the Network for Young Women Empowerment, a non-governmental organization at Wa in the Upper West Region.

The Commander at the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DVVSU) at the Regional Police Command, Assistant Superintendent of Police, (ASP) Adongo Apiiya said marital rape was seriously perpetuated in most homes and the women who were left victimised had no voice to complain due to social stigma.

“Marriage comes with sexual relations but when the woman says she is sick and not feeling well, she should not be coerced into having an affair she is not ready for because that could compound her situation”, he stated.

He explained that wellness was not just about the physical being and indicated that women could be suffering from some emotional or psychological trauma at the time and was incumbent on the husbands to see to their recovery before they requested for such intimate responsibilities from them.

“If a woman is bold enough to report marital rape to the police and she is able to provide enough evidence to substantiate her claims, the husband can suffer legal consequences because even though she is his wife, she has the right to say no to sex when she is not well”, he added.

He, however, cautioned women against hiding behind legal protection to deny their husbands sex when they were clearly capable of going into the act but encouraged them to embrace their marital responsibilities for happier homes.

Adding his voice, a broadcaster with the regional station of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation, Mr Seidu Bhomajo also said even after the woman had consented to a sexual relation, she had the right to withdraw the consent in the course of the act and the man had to respect her wishes.

He called on his colleague males to regard sexual relations as an act of mutual understanding and avoid coercion in order to make their wives excited in their marriages.

From Lydia Darlington Fordjour, Wa