Evidence in Marital Sexual Violence: Challenges and Solutions

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Ph.D Student in Criminal Law & Criminology, Tarbiat Modares University

2 Associate Professor, Faculty of law, Tarbiat Modares University

Abstract

One of the most prevalent forms of sexual violence against women is one which is perpetrated by husbands. The harm caused by such violence impels victims to seek ways to break free of violence. While some of the victims decide to divorce, others make an attempt to prevent their husbands from reusing violence by filing a criminal case. However, in order to achieve their desired outcome, both groups are required to firstly prove the violence, which is not straightforward given the private nature of sex. Therefore, the questions addressed in the present research are: what are the challenges faced by victims of marital sexual violence trying to prove their being subjected to sexual violence, and what are the solutions for facilitating the proof of such violence? To address these questions, a qualitative approach and a case-study method are used in in-depth semi-structured interviews with 18 judges, 10 lawyers and 35 victims. Also, non-participant observation technique is used by attending 16 hearings. The findings show that the proof of sexual violence is complicated by disappearance of physical evidence over time, the lack of eyewitness, courts’ evasion of acceptance of scientific evidence, and the fact that sexual violence is not always accompanied by physical injuries. However, it appears that until the laws are amended and supplemented, the difficulty of proving marital sexual violence can be alleviated under the [existing] legal capacity of knowledge of the judge by using other countries’ experiences on evidence in domestic violence, such as calling the victim as a witness, acceptance of expert testimony and child testimony, and considering the history of charged and uncharged crimes, and bad acts of perpetrator.

Keywords

References

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  1. قانون اساسی.
  2. قانون احترام به آزادی‌های مشروع و حفظ حقوق شهروندی.
  3. قانون آیین دادرسی کیفری.
  4. قانون حمایت از خانواده.
  5. قانون مجازات اسلامی.
  6. قانون مدنی.

 

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55. Federal Rules of Evidence/

56.California Evidence Code

57.Canada Evidence act

58.UK Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act

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