An Examination of Intimate Partner Sexual Violence: Comparing Marital and Nonmarital Incidents Employing NIBRS Data, 2008–2012

Abstract

Marital rape first appeared in a peer-reviewed publication in 1977 (Gelles, 1977), was first prosecuted as a crime in 1978, but took another two decades to be recognized as a crime across the United States. Marital rape is an underreported social problem occurring twice as frequently as media-saturated stranger rape (Russell, 1990). The present study draws on 5 years of National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) data (2008–2012) to provide baseline information on reported male-to-female marital sexual intimate partner violence (IPV) compared to nonmarital sexual IPV. Findings reveal, in part, that husbands as perpetrators, and wives as victims, are significantly older than non-married sexual IPV offenders and victims. Married offenders are more likely to be White, and dating offenders Black. Injuries are significantly more likely if the victim and offender are married, with marital sexual IPV cases more likely to include sexual penetration, including higher incidence of rape, sodomy, and sexual assault with an object.