People v. Jumawan: Examining the Law's Silent Treatment of Marital Rape
![handle is hein.journals/philplj89 and id is 346 raw text is:
PEOPLE V. JUMA WAN: ExAMINING THE LAW'S
SILENT TREATMENT OF MARITAL RAPE
NOTE
Giselle Jose
I. INTRODUCTION
People v. Jumawanj decided in 2014,2 marks the very first time a
documented case of marital rape has ever reached the Philippine Supreme
Court. In its lengthy decision, the high court pronounced as guilty a man
who forced his wife to have sex with him twice without her consent in
October 1998. In affirming the ruling of a Cagayan De Oro City Trial Court
and the Court of Appeals, the Supreme Court relied on the implicit
recognition of marital rape as falling within the scope of Republic Act No.
8353, also known as the Anti-Rape Law of 1997. This crucial decision,
promulgated within the term of the Supreme Court's first female Chief
Justice, categorically states, Sexual intercourse, albeit within the realm of
marriage, if not consensual, is rape.
This note explores this oft-neglected and almost invisible topic in
Philippine legal literature and ultimately recommends the need for statutory
reform. Amending the current rape laws to explicitly define and criminalize
marital rape not only better fulfills the country's commitment to its declared
policies on gender equality under the Constitution,3 but also more effectively
reflects the need of Filipino women for a more substantial legal recourse
against the very real injustices that may have been committed against them,
especially by those with whom they share or have shared intimate
relationships.
Cite as Giselle Jose, Note, People v. Jumaxan: Examining the Lan/s Silent Treatment of
MantalRape, 89 PHIL. L.J. 328, (page cited) (2015).
** Editor, PHILIPPINE LAW JOURNAL (2015). J.D., University of the Philippines
(2017, expected). B.S. Economics, cum laude, University of the Philippines (2013). This paper
won the 2015 Bartolome Carale Prize for Best Paper in Criminal Law.
1 People v. Jumawan [hereinafter Jumawan], G.R. No. 187495, 722 SCRA 108,
Apr. 21, 2014.
2 In contrast, the New York Court of Appeals made the same ruling in People v.
Liberta in 1984, 30 years prior to the decision in Jumaan.
3 CONST. art. II, § 14.
328](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/philplj89&div=19&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
What Is HeinOnline?
Contact us for annual subscription options:
Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?
profiles profiles most
People v. Jumawan: Examining the Law's Silent Treatment of Marital Rape
Contact us for annual subscription options:
Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?
profiles profiles most