<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<article>
  <title>Marital Rape: Social Reality Vs. Legal Recognition</title>
  <slug>marital-rape-social-reality-vs-legal-recognition</slug>
  <parent>
    <title>Volume 7, Issue 2</title>
  </parent>
  <post_type>
    <title>Research Article</title>
  </post_type>
  <year>2026</year>
  <volume>7</volume>
  <content><![CDATA[Any form of violence perpetrated within the family is considered particularly severe, precisely because it occurs in an environment that is 
presumed to provide warmth, safety, and emotional support. Such acts 
are committed by individuals who are expected to ensure protection and 
trust, yet these very settings are often transformed into spaces of fear, 
coercion, and psychological suffering. When addressing sexual violence 
within marriage, the issue becomes even more critical, as marital rape 
represents one of the gravest forms of domestic violence, frequently 
accompanied by psychological, emotional, social, and physical abuse.
Rape, particularly within the context of marriage, has been recognized 
relatively late in both international and domestic legal frameworks. This 
delayed recognition reflects deeply rooted historical, cultural, and legal 
perceptions of marriage as implying irrevocable consent. Accordingly, 
this research paper aims to analyze the factors that have contributed to 
the late legal acknowledgment of marital rape, the persistent underreporting of this criminal offense, and the manner in which it continues 
to be perceived and treated within society.
In order to provide a comprehensive and nuanced understanding of this 
phenomenon, the paper employs a comparative legal method to examine 
the relationship between international and national legal frameworks, 
alongside a statistical approach that illustrates the current situation in 
North Macedonia, particularly in relation to reporting patterns documented by the Ministry of Interior. Through this analysis, the study 
seeks to highlight the gap between formal legal recognition and the 
social reality of marital rape.&nbsp;&nbsp;]]></content>
  <references />
  <keywords>Marital rape, victims, intimate partner</keywords>
  <date>2026-10-25</date>
  <url>https://jlp.ibupress.com/articles/marital-rape-social-reality-vs-legal-recognition</url>
  <issue>2</issue>
  <pages>111-126</pages>
  <doi>10.69648/CBCZ3571</doi>
  <language>en</language>
  <license>CC BY-NC-ND 4.0</license>
  <license_url>https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/</license_url>
  <pdf>https://jlp.ibupress.com/file/F33vIVvcnkY/jlp-7-2-08-gjakova.pdf</pdf>
  <authors>
    <author>
      <first_name>Era</first_name>
      <last_name>Gjakova</last_name>
      <affiliation>South East European University</affiliation>
      <country>North Macedonia</country>
      <ror>https://ror.org/00m04y575</ror>
      <corresponding>true</corresponding>
    </author>
    <author>
      <first_name>Vedije</first_name>
      <last_name>Ratkoceri</last_name>
      <affiliation>South East European University</affiliation>
      <country>North Macedonia</country>
      <ror>https://ror.org/00m04y575</ror>
    </author>
  </authors>
  <journal>
    <title>Journal of Law And Politics</title>
    <issn>2671-342X</issn>
    <eissn>2671-3438</eissn>
    <publisher>Balkan University Press</publisher>
    <url>https://jlp.ibupress.com</url>
  </journal>
</article>