The Criminalization of Marital Rape as a Criminal Offense of Sexual Violence: A Comparative Analysis of Criminal Law in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei Darussalam
Abstract
Marital rape constitutes a form of sexual violence within marriage that continues to remain concealed behind patriarchal cultural norms, which position sexual obligations as the absolute right of the husband. Although globally recognized as a violation of human rights, the legal recognition of sexual coercion committed by a husband varies significantly across jurisdictions. This research is grounded in the increasing incidence of gender-based violence in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei Darussalam, as well as the absence of an in-depth comparative study concerning the legal framework governing marital rape in these three countries, which share closely related historical, cultural, and family law traditions. This study employs a normative-juridical approach combined with comparative legal analysis. It integrates Feminist Legal Theory as an analytical framework to examine unequal power relations within marriage and Comparative Law Theory to assess differences in legal regulations and the effectiveness of legal protection mechanisms. The data were obtained from statutory regulations, court decisions, academic literature, and official national and international reports. The findings of this study demonstrate, among others, that: (1) the urgency of regulating marital rape lies not merely in recognizing it as a criminal offense, but also in the necessity for the law to rectify unequal power relations within marriage. In the absence of clear legal regulation, sexual coercion within the household will continue to remain hidden, underreported, and inadequately prosecuted. (2) Indonesia has adopted the most progressive approach by recognizing sexual coercion within marriage as a criminal offense through the Law on Sexual Violence Crimes and the 2023 Criminal Code. Malaysia continues to maintain the marital rape exemption, thereby allowing criminal liability only in cases involving physical violence. Brunei Darussalam remains the most restricted.
Keywords
Full Text:
PDFReferences
Journals:
Ashari, B., Ainiyah, Q., & Nuronia, R. (2023). Marital rape dan gender equality: Sosialisasi KUHP Pasal 477 di Desa Suci Panti Kabupaten Jember. Pandalungan: Jurnal Pengabdian Kepada Masyarakat, 1(2), 54–68.
Cárdenas-Castro, M., & Salinero-Rates, S. (2024). Loss of autonomy, legitimization of violence, transgression of intimacy, and fear of abuse: A thematic analysis of stories of gynecological violence and its consequences. Feminism & Psychology, 34(3), 403–423.
Chhibber, B., & Anekal, C. S. (2022). An introduction to marital rape. Indian Journal of Law and Legal Research, 4(2).
Deane, T. (2024). Gender-based violence in international human rights law – The efficacy of the United Nations human rights legal framework and CEDAW in addressing the issue. Age of Human Rights Journal, 23(23), 1–32.
Debanjan, & Rao, T. S. S. (2022). The dark shadow of marital rape: Need to change the narrative. Journal of Psychosexual Health, 4(1), 11–13.
Djafri, M. T., & Munawir, A. (2024). Pemerkosaan dalam perkawinan (Analisis Undang-Undang No. 1 Tahun 2023 pada Pasal 473 KUHP dalam tinjauan hukum Islam). AL-QIBLAH: Jurnal Studi Islam dan Bahasa Arab, 3(5), 915–944.
Djafri, M., & Munawir, Z. (2024). Analisis yuridis kekerasan seksual dalam rumah tangga pada Putusan Pengadilan Negeri Bangil Nomor 912/Pid/B/2011/PN.Bgl. Jurnal Hukum dan Peradilan, 13(1), 45–62.
Effendi, P. (2024). Tindak pidana kekerasan dalam hubungan seksual bagi suami terhadap istri ditinjau dari Pasal 8 huruf a Undang-Undang Nomor 23 Tahun 2004 tentang penghapusan kekerasan dalam rumah tangga. Duta Hukum, 1(2), 27–40.
Fitriyah, U., Busriyanti, B., & Sa’adah, S. L. (2023). Review of marital rape in Law No. 23 of 2004 concerning the elimination of household violence (TPKDRT), and Law No. 12 Year 2022 concerning criminal acts of sexual violence (TPKS) feminism perspective. Jurnal Syntax Admiration, 4(8), 1259–1268.
Hasday, J. E. (2000). Contest and consent: A legal history of marital rape. California Law Review, 88(5), 1373–1505.
Ismail, N., & Abdul Rahim, R. (2024). Marital rape and legal reform in Malaysia: Between patriarchy and women’s rights. Journal of International Women’s Studies, 26(2), 88–104.
Jeubelie, H. A. (2024). The legal comparison on the law governing marital rape in India, Malaysia and Singapore. Current Legal Issue, 6(1), 75–91.
Keumala, N., et al. (2025). Kritik teori hukum feminis terhadap kasus marital rape di Indonesia. Amar: Jurnal Ilmiah Hukum, 3(1), 47–57.
Lippi, G. C. (2025). Perlindungan hukum terhadap perempuan akibat pemerkosaan dalam tindak pidana kekerasan seksual. Jurnal Fakultas Hukum, 15(4), 1–14.
Mintarsih, M. (2025). When consent becomes contested: Comparative reconstruction of marital rape in Indonesian criminal law and Islamic law. Jurnal Penelitian Hukum De Jure, 25(3), 201–212.
Müller, D. M. (2020). Brunei’s Sharia penal code order: Punitive turn or the art of non-punishment. Journal of Islamic Law, 1(1), 167–187.
Nafisah, D., et al. (2024). Comparative analysis of Islamic family law and normative law: Examining the causes of divorce in Purwokerto, Indonesia. Samarah, 8(2), 846–871.
Norhartijah, H., & Kurniawan, C. S. (2025). Reforming Islamic family law in Southeast Asia: A comparative study of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei Darussalam. ASEAN Journal of Islamic Studies and Civilization (AJISC), 2(1), 1–25.
Nova, E. (2025). Implikasi yuridis pembuktian tindak pidana kekerasan seksual dalam perspektif Undang-Undang Nomor 12 Tahun 2022 bagi pemenuhan keadilan korban. Unes Journal of Swara Justisia, 9(1), 208–219.
Purnamasari, R. W., & Widoyoko, W. D. (2025). A comparative criminal law analysis of sexual violence within domestic contexts: Perspectives from Indonesia and Malaysia. Journal of Court and Justice, 4(2), 57–71.
Rahma, S. F. M., & Afifah, H. (2024). Legal protection for victims of marital rape from the perspective of victimology. Journal of Public Representative and Society Provision, 4(3), 141–150.
Rohmah, D. S. N., & Anwar, K. (2023). Problematika kekerasan seksual dalam rumah tangga (marital rape) perspektif undang-undang berbasis maqasid al-shariah. Jurnal Pendidikan Tambusai, 7, 18828–18840.
Saraswati, R., & Sulaiman, F. (2023). Victim blaming and law enforcement challenges in marital rape cases in Indonesia. Indonesia Law Review, 13(3), 301–320.
Sinaga, D. F. S., & Apriyani, M. N. (2024). Perlindungan hukum korban tindak pidana marital rape terhadap perempuan dalam perkawinan di bawah tangan. UNES Law Review, 6(4), 10169–10180.
Situmorang, A. A. C., & Hutapea, S. A. (2023). Implementasi Pasal 2 dan Pasal 5 CEDAW terkait marital rape di Indonesia. Tirtayasa Journal of International Law, 1(2), 146.
Tochukwu, W. (2021). Law as a tool for social change: Bridging the gap between justice and social. SSRN Electronic Journal, 23(2), 167–186.
Vitria, A. (2023). Comparative study of marital rape as a reason for divorce in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. Proceeding International Conference Restructuring and Transforming Law 2023, 5(2), 61–65.
Vitria, A. (2023). Legal protection for marital rape victims in Malaysia: A human rights perspective. Malayan Law Journal, 5(2), 77–95.
Wahdah, A. N. (2025). Enforcement of laws on sexual violence in marriage (marital rape): A comparative study of criminal laws in Indonesia and Singapore. Awang Long Law Review, 8(1), 8–22.
Wulandari, L., & Saipudin, L. (2021). Marital rape in a comparative perspective of Indonesian criminal law and Islamic criminal law. Unram Law Review, 5(1).
Books:
Estrich, S. (1987). Real rape. Harvard University Press.
Hale, M. (1736). Historia placitorum coronae: The history of the pleas of the crown (Vol. 1). E. and R. Nutt and R. Gosling.
Ibrahim, J. (2013). Teori dan metodologi penelitian hukum normatif. Bayumedia Publishing.
MacKinnon, C. A. (1989). Toward a feminist theory of the state. Harvard University Press.
Marzuki, P. M. (2021). Penelitian hukum. Kencana.
Örücü, E., & Nelken, D. (Eds.). (2007). Comparative law: A handbook. Hart Publishing.
Pateman, C. (1988). The sexual contract. Stanford University Press.
Shanley, M. L. (1989). Feminism, marriage, and the law in Victorian England. Princeton University Press.
Soekanto, S., & Mamudji, S. (2019). Penelitian hukum normatif: Suatu tinjauan singkat. Rajawali Pers.
Zweigert, K., & Kötz, H. (1998). An introduction to comparative law (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press.
Internet:
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office – Brunei: Information for victims of rape and sexual assault (2023).
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office – Human rights and democracy report 2023: Brunei Darussalam (2023).
Komnas Perempuan – Catatan Tahunan Kekerasan terhadap Perempuan 2024 (CATAHU 2024).
UN Women – Brunei Darussalam Country Gender Equality Snapshot 2024.
Women’s Aid Organisation – Statistics on rape and gender-based violence in Malaysia: Overview from Royal Malaysia Police data (2019–2022).
Regulation:
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, Dec. 18, 1979, 1249 U.N.T.S. 13.
Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, G.A. Res. 48/104, U.N. Doc. A/RES/48/104 (1993).
Domestic Violence Act 1994 (Act 521) (Malaysia).
Islamic Family Law Order, 2010 (Brunei Darussalam).
Criminal Code [KUHP] [Criminal Code], Law Number 1 of 2023 (Indonesia).
Law Number 1 of 2023 concerning the Criminal Code, State Gazette of the Republic of Indonesia Year 2023 Number 1.
Law Number 12 of 2022 concerning Sexual Violence Crimes, State Gazette of the Republic of Indonesia Year 2022 Number 120.
Law Number 23 of 2004 concerning the Elimination of Domestic Violence, State Gazette of the Republic of Indonesia Year 2004 Number 95.
Married Women Act Order, 2010 (Brunei Darussalam).
Penal Code (Act 574) (Malaysia).
Penal Code (Cap. 22) (Brunei Darussalam).
Sharia Penal Code Order, 2013 (Brunei Darussalam).
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.30659/jdh.v9i2.52897
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
View My Stats
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Jurnal Daulat Hukum has been indexed in:
