The Sociocultural and Legal Context and Construction of Marital Rape in the ACT

Marital rape- a relativey common crime that almost always goes unpunished - will be investigated to understand the factors that limit the impact of law reform in the private or domestic sphere and in relation to crimes primarily affecting women. Using ACT data, the project aims to analyse how marital rape and consent are constructed by the vitims and the court system and how these models affect reporting and prosecution. This will provide a guide for the direction of further legislative reform, a platform for developing strategies for victim assistance and early intervention, and the basis for an Australian-wide study.