The long fight to criminalise rape in marriage

Thirty years ago, marital rape became a crime in the UK. This is the story of those who fought to make that happen – and of those who resisted it.

“The intercourse which takes place between husband and wife after marriage is not by virtue of any special consent on her part but is mere submission to an obligation imposed on her by law.” – Justice Henry Hawkins, 1888 In 1981, at the age of 19, I joined feminists across the United Kingdom to campaign for the criminalisation of rape in marriage. Our aim was about more than overturning the immunity for husbands who raped their wives: it was also about asserting the rights of women to refuse sex with any man, in any situation, for whatever reason. It was a battle that dated back centuries. Sir Matthew Hale was chief justice of England between 1671 and 1676 and is still widely considered to have been one of the most pre-eminent jurists and judges in the history of English and Welsh law. As the leader of the Hale Commission in the 1650s, he oversaw a radical law reform commission. His recommendations included reducing the availability of the death penalty, the use of laypersons in the Court of Appeal, and establishing County Courts. But he was also a huge misogynist.