The Vindictive Wife- Complainants' Credibility in Cases of Wife Rape

Abstract

Since Lord Hale's assertion that rape is "[an accusation easily to be made and hard to be proved and harder to be defended by the party accused" the criminal justice system has been obsessively concerned with false rape allegations. The paper portrays a pioneering qualitative study of women complainants' credibility in cases of rape within long-term intimate relationships. Although wife rape became a criminal offense, there is a lack of empirical research on the legal treatment of wife rape cases. The article seeks to fill this lacuna and offers an innovative perspective on wife rape, based on the point of view of key legal actors. The uniqueness of this study lies in the in-depth analysis of wife rape cases, obtained from the day-to-day practice of defense and Crown counsel who litigate wife rape cases. In the article, I assert that myths and sexism continue to inform the legal prosecution of wife rape. Although there is recognition that a woman's consent in intimate relationships is no longer irrevocable, the way in which women's credibility in cases of wife rape is perceived, as shown in the research, attests to the fact that stereotypical ways of * Dr. Ruthy Lowenstein Lazar, Professor of Law, the College of Management Academic Studies, Israel. I would like to thank Professor Liz Sheehy for her inspiring thoughts and comments and to Professor Janet Mosher for her excellent guidance in my original research. I would also like to thank the editors of the Southern California Review of Law and Social Justice for their hard work and thoughtful edits.

Thinking about wife rape continues to inform the attitudes in these cases. The findings of the research are emblematic of the literature on sexual violence in intimate relationships, and are significant in enhancing our knowledge regarding wife rape cases. Of particular interest is the finding that the myth of false rape allegations shapes the legal discourse of wife rape and serves as a key element in these cases, when issues of property, custody of children, family affairs, and a strong sense of intimacy are involved. Beyond its analytical contribution, the research may be instrumental to key actors in the criminal justice system when dealing with cases of wife rape. Moreover, due to its unique methodology, the study provides new insights on the legal processing of wife rape cases.