Section 43(5) of the sexual offences act: the legal dispensation for marital rape in kenya

Abstract

Law is an instrument to effect change in society and to protect rights of the marginalized. Where law fails to do this, its objects fail to be realized. The Constitution of Kenya provides for gender equality and the freedom from prejudicial treatment on the basis of one’s sex. This, nonetheless, is not attained in light of Section 43(5) of the Sexual Offences Act which provides for the marital rape exemption and thus puts one gender at unequal par with another. This paper will focus on marital rape in Kenya and how its legal dispensation has had an effect on married women.