Developed by Kansas Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence
Does marriage exempt a spouse from being charged with rape? Does a man or woman have the right to say "no," even to his or her spouse?
Like other sexual assault victims, spouses who have been raped by their partners may have to deal with uninformed friends, family members and others who believe that spousal rape is just a myth. Do you know the answers for the questions listed below?
1. True or False: A man cannot be arrested in Kansas for raping his wife.
2. True or False: Rape within a marriage is not about power and control, like stranger or acquaintance rape.
3. True or False: When a woman is raped by her spouse, it is easier for her to recover emotionally than a woman who is raped by someone she does not know.
1. FALSE.
Marital rape is a crime. A man can be arrested and prosecuted in Kansas for nonconsensual sexual intercourse with his wife.
2. FALSE.
Rape is an act of power and control expressed through sexual aggression. This is true even if you are married to him. Rape is a crime committed to dominate, degrade, and humiliate. Rape is forced sexual intercourse with any person who does not give consent. Submitting, when under the threat of force or fear, is not giving consent. Rape is an invasion of a person's physical and psychological well-being.
3. FALSE.
Rape is an act of sexual violence. Being married to the offender does not make it any less frightening. Agreeing to have sex with your spouse one time or being married does not imply consent to sex whenever your partner wants.
"Women raped by a partner are being violated by someone with whom they share their lives, homes, and possibly children. In addition to the violation of their bodies, they are faced with a betrayal of trust and intimacy. Research indicates that marital rape victims are more likely to be raped multiple times when compared with stranger and acquaintance rape victims, and women who experience marital rape suffer long-lasting physical and psychological injuries which are as severe or more severe than stranger rape victims." (From the "Wife Rape Information Page" a project of the Wellesley Centers for Women, Wellesley College, prepared by Patricia Mahoney with the guidance and comments of Laura X, Director of the National Clearinghouse on Marital and Date Rape, and Raquel Bergen and Kersti Yllo, who have authored books on wife rape.)
Kansas Statute, K.S.A. 21-3502, addresses the crime of rape.
(a) Rape is:
(1) Sexual intercourse with a person who does not consent to the sexual intercourse, under any of the following circumstances:
(A) When the victim is overcome by force or fear;
(B) When the victim is unconscious or physically powerless; or
(C) When the victim is incapable of giving consent because of mental deficiency or disease, or when the victim is incapable of giving consent because of the effect of any alcoholic liquor, narcotic, drug or other substance, which condition was known by the offender or was reasonably apparent to the offender;
(2) Sexual intercourse with a child who is under 14 years of age;
(3) Sexual intercourse with a victim when the victim's consent was obtained through a knowing misrepresentation made by the offender that the sexual intercourse was a medically or therapeutically necessary procedure; or
(4) Sexual intercourse with a victim when the victim's consent was obtained through a knowing misrepresentation made by the offender that the sexual intercourse was a legally required procedure within the scope
of the offender's authority.
(b) It shall be a defense to a prosecution of rape under subsection (a)(2) that the child was married to the accused at the time of the offense.
(c) Rape as described in subsection (a)(1) or (2) is a severity level 1, person felony.
Rape as described in subsection (a)(3) or (4) is a severity level 2, person felony.
This means that anyone, including spouses, can be victims of rape. A victim of spousal rape is entitled to the same services and assistance as any other victim of sexual assault.
For support, call one of the following:
Kansas Attorney General's Crime Victims' Rights Program and Crime Victims' Compensation board has information about victims' assistance programs administered out of the AG's office and application requirements for compensation from the state if you have been the victim of a violent crime.
This table lists the Kansas sexual and domestic violence programs alphabetically by city, services provided, program names and their HOTLINE phone numbers.
| CITY | SERVICES | KCSDV MEMBER PROGRAM | CRISIS HOTLINE NUMBER |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Atchison | DV/SA | DoVES | 800-367-7075 or 913-367-0363 |
| 2. Dodge City | DV/SA | Crisis Center of Dodge City | 620-225-6510 |
| 3. El Dorado | DV/SA | Family Life Center of Butler County | 316-321-7104 or 800-8870-6967 |
| 4. Emporia | DV/SA | SOS, Inc. | 800-825-1295 or 620-342-1870 |
| 5. Garden City | DV/SA | Family Crisis Services | 620-275-5911 |
| 6. Great Bend | DV/SA | Family Crisis Center | 620-792-1885 or 866-792-1885 |
| 7. Hays | DV/SA | Northwest Kansas Domestic and Sexual Violence Services | 800-794-4624 or 785-625-3055 |
| 8. Hutchinson | DV/SA | Sexual Assault/Domestic Violence Center
|
800-701-3630 or 620-663-2522 |
| 9. Iola | DV/SA | Hope Unlimited | 620-365-7566 |
| 10. Kansas City, KS | DV | El Centro, Inc. ¡Si Se Puede! | 913-281-1186 |
| 11. Kansas City, KS | DV | Friends of Yates Joyce Williams Center | 913-321-0951 |
| 12. Kansas City, MO | DV/SA | KCAVP | 816-561-0550 |
| 13. Kansas City, MO | SA | MOCSA | 816-531-0233 |
| 14. Lawrence | SA | GaDuGi Safe Center | 785-841-2345 |
| 15. Lawrence | DV | Women's Transitional Care Services | 800-770-3030 or 785-843-3333 |
| 16. Leavenworth | DV/SA | Alliance Against Family Violence | 800-644-1441 or 913-682-9131 |
| 17. Liberal | DV/SA | Liberal Area Rape Crisis and DV Services | 620-624-8818 |
| 18. Manhattan | DV/SA | The Crisis Center, Inc. | 800-727-2785 or 785-539-2785 |
| 19. Mayetta | DV/SA | Prairie Band Potawatomi Family Violence Prevention Program | 785-966-0173 |
| 20. Newton | DV/SA | Harvey County DV/SA Task Force | 800-487-0510 or 316-283-0350 |
| 21. Overland Park | DV/SA | Safehome | 888-432-9300 or 913-262-2868 |
| 22. Pittsburg | DV/SA | Crisis Resource Center of Southeast Kansas, Inc. | 800-794-9148 or 620-231-8251 |
| 23. Salina | DV/SA | Domestic Violence Assoc. of Central Kansas | 800-874-1499 or 785-827-5862 |
| 24. Topeka | DV/SA | YWCA Battered Women's Task Force | 888-822-2983 or 785-354-7927 |
| 25. Ulysses | DV/SA | DoVES of Grant County | 620-356-2608 |
| 26. Wichita | DV | Catholic Charities Harbor House | 316-263-6000 |
| 27. Wichita | DV | StepStone | 316-265-1611 |
| 28. Wichita | SA | Wichita Area Sexual Assault Center | 316-263-3002 |
| 29. Wichita | DV | YWCA Women's Crisis Center | 316-267-7233 |
| 30. Winfield | DV/SA | Safe Homes, Inc. | 800-794-7672 or 620-221-4357 |
Funds have been provided through the Federal Preventive Health and Health Services Block Grant awarded to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and administered by the Kansas Attorney General's Office.
The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Office of the Kansas Attorney General, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
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