According to this rather old (2015) article, the federal government made marital rape illegal in 1986, but there are still many exceptions in various states:
The federal government made marital rape illegal in 1986, but this only applies to incidents which occur on publicly-owned land.
- Connecticut - Only husbands or wives raped “by the use of force” can bring charges against their spouse.
- Idaho - only men can rape, so wife-on-husband rape, rare as it may be, doesn’t exist.
- Michigan - “a person may not be charged or convicted solely because his or her legal spouse is under the age of 16, mentally incapable, or mentally incapacitated.”
- Mississippi - Marital rape is only “rape” if it involves “forcible sexual penetration”, and evidence that the alleged rapist and his victim are married can be used in the accused’s defense (..)
Since rape is a serious crime, I am wondering why it is so hard to treat it homogeneously from the legal perspective.
Question: Why are there so many exceptions to marital rape law in the US?