History Main / MaritalRapeLicense

* ''Series/GoodbyeMyPrincess'': Cheng Yin is implied to have invoked this after Xiao Feng declared how much she hated him. It does ''not'' improve relations between them.

It was once legal in the Western world for a man to rape his wife (or for a wife to rape her husband for that matter). Sweden was the first country to explicitly criminalize it in 1965, and it has only been illegal in all fifty US states since ''1993''. Fifty-three countries around the world still don't consider it a crime.

* In ''ComicBook/{{Orion}}'' Tigra claims her husband ComicBook/{{Darkseid}} raped her, but it's unclear if this is actually the case since she said so while lying about Orion's origin to try and manipulate Orion into becoming the new ruler of Apocalypse. In any case it wouldn't be outside of Darkseid's normal behavior to do such.

* ''Film/CoalMinersDaughter'': when 14 year old Loretta, a virgin, panics on her wedding night, her husband rapes her. She doesn't enjoy it, but they stay married.

* There's a version of this in ''Literature/TheThornBirds'', when Luke takes Meggie with absolutely zero consideration for the fact that she's a virgin, as well as completely ignorant as to matters of sex (her mother never bothered to explain anything to her and she had no older sisters or girlfriends who could have). When she screams in pain as he enters her, his only response is to snap at her to "shut up and lie still".

* ''Series/{{Brookside}}'' features a storyline where Rachel Jordach is forced to have sex by her husband and the reaction of the bigoted character Ron Dixon is to say "he can't have raped her he's her husband".

** This trope was discussed in the episode "Persona", after Olivia and Cragen hear Linnie's story ([[spoiler:that her name was actually Carolyn and that she escaped from police custody while awaiting trial for shooting her husband six times after he raped her]]), they note that "Marital rape wasn't made a crime until 1984. Nowadays, we wouldn't even charge her, it'd be ruled self-defense." [[spoiler:In the end, she's found not guilty of the murder, though she will have to at least serve probation for the escape.]]

* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Kaeloo}}'', the characters [[PlayingHouse play house]], with Kaeloo as the mother and Mr. Cat as the father. At one point when the two are alone, he suggestively rubs his groin against hers, lies on top of her and turns out the lights, stating that he is "exercising his marital rights". Fortunately, nothing happens.

* Initially implied, but later {{subverted}} in ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia''. It's initially implied that Enji Todoroki/Endeavor had an ArrangedMarriage with his wife Rei to create a child with a combination of their Quirks in an attempt to [[VicariouslyAmbitious create a child that would surpass All Might]] with Shoto being the end result of four children, all against her will. However, several revelations revealed this to not be the case at all. [[spoiler:First, Endeavor noted he married Rei because of the compensation of weaknesses (her ice would likely keep his Hellflame Quirk from damaging him), the implications they married quite young (as in barely out of adolescence and thus before All Might became a hero, much less the Symbol of Peace) and that Endeavor's original successor was planned to be his ''oldest son'' Toya, who possessed a much more powerful version of Endeavor's Quirk, but inherited his mother's weak constitution, which seemingly wound up killing him. More notable given how by the math, Toya would've been around 10-12 years older than Shoto. Lastly, later chapters revealed that it was ''Rei'' who wanted more children so that they could support each other, as Endeavor was initially fine with Toya being his successor despite not having the desired quirk combination he wanted.]]

* ''Series/BarneyMiller'' has an episode where a woman comes into the police station distraught and says she's been raped. The husband, and, to a great extent, Barney, don't understand what the big deal is, assuming that it would be impossible for a rape to happen inside a marriage since marriage implies a loving relationship and a greater sense of "consent". The District Attorney, a woman, and Lt. Dietrich, ''do'' understand the gravity of the situation (and just how wrong the rape was), and the husband's lawyer, though agreeing with Linden and the husband, wants the case to go ahead because he wants the fame associated with it. Dietrich, Lt. Harris, and the DA spend the rest of the episode explaining how classless the husband was and how he needs to treat women with more respect. [[spoiler:The episode ultimately concludes by treating the incident as if it was "just another marriage disagreement", with the husband agreeing with Harris that he was just uncouth and was just clueless about how to treat women properly ([[FridgeLogic which raises the question about how he got married in the first place]]), learning, through the experience, just how to do it properly, causing his wife to forgive him and drop the whole matter]]. Perhaps the only reason why the episode works is due to ValuesDissonance (social inequity, though improving, still had quite a bit of work to do when the episode aired in 1978) -- it's doubtful now that such a scenario, with society's greater understanding of the real impact of rape, even in marriage, could be played for laughs today. TruthInTelevision as New York's marital rape exemption wasn't found unconstitutional until 1984.

* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Kaeloo}}'', the characters [[PlayingHouse play house]], with Kaeloo as the mother and Mr. Cat as the father. [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar At one point when the two are alone, he suggestively rubs his groin against hers, lies on top of her and turns out the lights, stating that he is "exercising his marital rights".]] Fortunately, nothing happens.

* In ''Manga/CeresCelestiaLegend'', Mikagi, Ceres' once kind and gentle husband [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity who became warped]] after she gave him [[TouchedByVorlons a supernatural power boost]], was seen ripping off her clothes and was [[RapeDiscretionShot heavily implied to have raped her]], since afterward Ceres is seen half-naked on the floor crying.

** This trope was discussed in the episode "Persona, after Olivia and Cragen hear Linnie's story ([[spoiler:that her name was actually Carolyn and that she escaped from police custody while awaiting trial for shooting her husband six times after he raped her]]), they note that "Marital rape wasn't made a crime until 1984. Nowadays, we wouldn't even charge her, it'd be ruled self-defense." [[spoiler:In the end, she's found not guilty of the murder, though she will have to at least serve probation for the escape.]]
** In one episode, the team meets a woman who's so [[ConditionedToAcceptHorror broken by childhood abuse that she doesn't seem to view anything her husband does to her as wrong]]. While the major focus is tracking down the pedophiles who are still circulating the pictures her childhood abuser published, they do at one point arrest the husband, walking all over this trope, as Barba suggests they try and "get him to admit to something he doesn't believe is a crime". The husband ends up doing exactly that, to the point where even when Amaro hints at the fact that his actions might constitute rape, he replies, "That's the beauty of it. You can't rape a wife." We never see him again after this conversation.

Statutory rape is not automatically included in this trope: OldManMarryingAChild overlaps with this trope ''if and only if'' the marriage is consummated ''and'' the girl is indicated to be traumatized or unwilling. This distinction is included because some people [[TorchesAndPitchforks feel very offended]] when the marriages of historical persons get judged by contemporary standards and thus summarily defined as rape. '''[[Administrivia/NoRealLifeExamplesPlease No Real Life examples, please]]''': include only media examples, and stick to how the relationship is portrayed in that particular work.

* Initially implied, but later heavily suggested to be {{subverted}} in ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia''. It's initially implied that Enji Todoroki/Endeavor had an ArrangedMarriage with his wife Rei to create a child with a combination of their Quirks in an attempt to [[VicariouslyAmbitious create a child that would surpass All Might]] with Shoto being the end result of four children, all against her will. However, several revelations have thrown this into question. [[spoiler:First, Endeavor noting he married Rei because of the compensation of weaknesses (her ice would likely keep his Hellflame Quirk from damaging him), the implications they married quite young (as in barely out of adolescence and thus before All Might became a hero, much less the Symbol of Peace) and that Endeavor's original successor was planned to be his ''oldest son'' Toya, who possessed a much more powerful version of Endeavor's Quirk, but inherited his mother's weak constitution, which seemingly wound up killing him. More notable given how by the math, Toya would've been around 10-12 years older than Shoto.]] All of these elements cast ''heavy'' doubt over the idea that Rei was ever forced into motherhood by Enji, not to mention it has never been proven that she was blackmailed, forced or threatened into marrying him, just that it was an ArrangedMarriage.

** In one episode, the team meets a woman who's so [[ConditionedToAcceptHorror broken by childhood abuse that she doesn't seem to view anything her husband does to her as wrong]]. While the major focus is tracking down the pedophiles who are still circulating the pictures her childhood abuser published, they do at one point arrest the husband, walking all over this trope. Barba suggests they try and "get him to admit to something he doesn't believe is a crime," and they get a full confession by doing exactly that, with him even saying outright that, "That's the beauty of it. You can't rape a wife." We never see him again after this conversation.

** In one episode, the team meets a woman who's so [[ConditionedToAcceptHorror broken by childhood abuse that she doesn't seem to view anything her husband does to her as wrong]]. While the major focus is tracking down the pedophiles who are still circulating the pictures her childhood abuser published, they do at one point arrest the husband, walking all over this trope. Barba suggests they try and "get him to admit to something he doesn't believe is a crime." Which he does, even saying outright that, "That's the beauty of it. You can't rape a wife." We never see him again after this conversation.

** In one episode, the team meets a woman who's so [[ConditionedToAcceptHorror broken by childhood abuse that she doesn't seem to view anything her husband does to her as wrong]]. While the major focus is tracking down the pedophiles who are still circulating the pictures her childhood abuser published, they do at one point arrest the husband, walking all over this trope. Barba says "Let's see if we can get him to admit to what he doesn't believe is a crime," Amaro chats with him and says "Let's be honest, some of the things you do might be considered rape," and the husband himself says "That's the beauty of it. You can't rape a wife." We never see him again after this conversation.

** This trope was discussed in the episode ''Persona'', after Olivia and Craigen hear Linnie's story ([[spoiler:that her name was actually "Carolyn" and that she escaped from police custody while awaiting trial for shooting her husband six times after he raped her]]) the latter says "Marital rape wasn't made a crime until 1984. Nowadays, we wouldn't even charge her, it'd be ruled self-defense." [[spoiler:In the end, she's found not guilty of the murder, though she will have to serve some time in prison for the escape.]]

* Heavily implied in ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia''. Enji Todoroki, aka Endeavor, found himself unable to surpass All Might and become the Number One Hero, so he decided to have an ArrangedMarriage with a woman named Rei, in hopes of having a child that would inherit both of their Quirks of fire and ice powers to one day surpass All Might. Given Enji was shown to be verbally and physically abusive towards Rei, and the fact she had to bear ''four'' children until one of them finally had the Quirk combination Enji wanted, it's hard to believe this trope wasn't in place.

* ''Series/GeneralHospital'': Alan and Monica prepare to make love to solidify their reconciliation following her adultery. Unfortunately, his demeanor gradually made her more and more fearful and repulsed until it turned into an example of this trope. Audrey suffered this at the hands of husband Tom (she managed to divorce him and marry her true love Steve). Sadly, this is how their son was conceived. 30-something years later when her granddaughter Elizabeth was raped, it brought back the terrible memories.

* In ''Manga/AyashiNoCeres'', Mikagi, Ceres' once kind and gentle husband [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity who became warped]] after she gave him [[TouchedByVorlons a supernatural power boost]], was seen ripping off her clothes and was [[RapeDiscretionShot heavily implied to have raped her]], since afterward Ceres is seen half-naked on the floor crying.

* ''ComicBook/XMen'': Although not married, Iceman and Mystique were in a relationship when Iceman raped Mystique in the bath. Admittedly, he was under the influence of the "Apocalypse Fragment" at the time. This was the reason, according to the account Mystique gave to Cyclops, why she betrayed the X-Men to the Marauders, and why she tried to abduct the mutant baby Hope Summers in "Messiah [=CompleX=]".

* Also on ''Series/{{Passions}}'', Alistair repeatedly forces himself on wife Theresa and is stated to have done the same thing with wife Katherine.
* ''Series/GeneralHospital'': Alan and Monica prepare to make love to solidify their reconciliation following her adultery. Unfortunately, his demeanor gradually made her more and more fearful and repulsed until it turned into an example of this trope. Audrey suffered this at the hands of husband Tom (she managed to divorce him and marry her true love Steve). Sadly, this is how their son was conceived. 30-something years later when her granddaughter Elizabeth was raped, it brought back the terrible memories

* ''Series/DrQuinnMedicineWoman'': The titular character's sister Marjorie implies this about her husband, saying that he "insisted on his right to my bed".

* It was obvious in ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'' that this happened to Shoto's [[AnIcePerson mother]], who was forced to marry [[VillainWithGoodPublicity Endeavor]] and repeatedly give birth until he's got a kid with [[ComboPlatterPowers the right power combination]] (a.k.a. [[ChildByRape Shoto]]). The sheer trauma of going through such order, plus living in the same house with her rapist and seeing Shoto's face with his fire power despite still loving her son eventually caused the poor woman to snap and permanently scar the child's face with boiling water.