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Anti-Gender Developments

Home > Other Forms of Violence Against Women > Forced and Early Marriage > Ongoing Developments

India: Supreme Court Invalidates Law Allowing Sex with Child Brides

India’s Supreme Court has overturned a law that allowed a man to have sex with a girl between fifteen and eighteen years of age if the two were married. Girls under the age of eighteen may now file a complaint of rape against their husbands within one year of a sexual act. According to the BBC, women’s rights groups in India strongly support the judgment; however, others are concerned that the verdict will be difficult to enforce “in a country where child marriage is still rampant.” Additionally, other forms of marital rape not involving a minor are still legal in India.

Compiled from: India Supreme Court rules sex with child bride is rape, BBC News (October 11, 2017).

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