[PASSED] Marital Rape Justice Act

[Ossitania]

I have made some changes to the draft.

How does the proposal look now?

It does not appear that you have made the advised changes.

These are my thoughts too. The fact that you still have eight clauses being the strongest hint.

[Christian Democrats]

What else should I do? A proposal on this topic needs to be thorough.

• The police should not discriminate between accusations of marital and nonmarital rape.
  
• Legislation should not discriminate between cases of marital and nonmarital rape.
  
• The application of those laws (i.e., punishments) should not be discriminatory.

[Linux and the X]

What else should I do? A proposal on this topic needs to be thorough.

• The police should not discriminate between accusations of marital and nonmarital rape.
  
• Legislation should not discriminate between cases of marital and nonmarital rape.
  
• The application of those laws (i.e., punishments) should not be discriminatory.

See, that's much shorter than what you wrote before.

[Abacathea]

What else should I do? A proposal on this topic needs to be thorough.

• The police should not discriminate between accusations of marital and nonmarital rape.
  
• Legislation should not discriminate between cases of marital and nonmarital rape.
  
• The application of those laws (i.e., punishments) should not be discriminatory.

See, that's much shorter than what you wrote before.

Is the honorable Linux and the X suggestion what Abacathea was thinking, less, is more?

[Christian Democrats]

How does it look now? This draft has simpler language.

[Araraukar]

How does it look now? This draft has simpler language.

It does look better, and it has much more neutral language now - we thank for the ambassador for taking that advice as well - but we do have to wonder how good an idea it is to add "real world data" to it? Doesn't that run the risk of jeopardizing the legality of the proposal?

EDIT: We see the inflammatory language was re-added.

[Tjennewell]

Mandates that accusations of marital rape be treated by law enforcement the same as or more carefully than similar accusations of nonmarital rape;

For some reason you still keep trying to make a distinction between marital and non marital rape in terms of prosecution and punishment. I urge you to drop that attitude and instead focus on making them being treated the same. Our law enforcement will deal with any occurence of rape in a very careful and professional manner.

And you still speak of underdeveloped societies, primitive beliefs and archaic views in your preamble - that is rude and not the neutral tone I would expect from international legislation. Besides, the examples you gave during the discussion from that planet Terra of the Sol System include countries such as the United States or Turkey. I am pretty sure you don't consider them to be underdeveloped societies, right?

[Araraukar]

And you still speak of underdeveloped societies, primitive beliefs and archaic views in your preamble - that is rude and not the neutral tone I would expect from international legislation.

OOC: They were gone for a bit, I swear, as I specifically looked for them, but they were added back!

[Sciongrad]

I call shenanigans on the category. The moral decency category reflects a decrease of civil liberties in member nations upon implementation. Please, ambassador; save us the trouble of arguing that marital rape is a civil liberty - because that notion is, frankly, abominable - and adjust the category accordingly. Aside from that, I could definitely consider this as something Sciongrad could support.

[Kulaloe WA]

I call shenanigans on the category. The moral decency category reflects a decrease of civil liberties in member nations upon implementation. Please, ambassador; save us the trouble of arguing that marital rape is a civil liberty - because that notion is, frankly, abominable - and adjust the category accordingly.

It's what the secretariat (OOC: mods) have ruled it to be. The Honoured Ambassador of Christian Democrats initially wanted the resolution to be categorized under human rights.

[Sciongrad]

I call shenanigans on the category. The moral decency category reflects a decrease of civil liberties in member nations upon implementation. Please, ambassador; save us the trouble of arguing that marital rape is a civil liberty - because that notion is, frankly, abominable - and adjust the category accordingly.

It's what the secretariat (OOC: mods) have ruled it to be. The Honoured Ambassador of Christian Democrats initially wanted the resolution to be categorized under human rights.

If this is the case, then I apologize and retract my statement. Although I'm not entirely sure how this fits under moral decency by any stretch of the imagination. By the same logic, GAR#23, and other similar resolutions where morally despicable actions are banned would also fall under moral decency.

[Christian Democrats]

How does it look now? This draft has simpler language.

It does look better, and it has much more neutral language now - we thank for the ambassador for taking that advice as well - but we do have to wonder how good an idea it is to add "real world data" to it? Doesn't that run the risk of jeopardizing the legality of the proposal?

EDIT: We see the inflammatory language was re-added.

I never changed the preamble, so nothing was removed and readded.

Also, I don't think it's inflammatory to label rape as barbaric.

Mandates that accusations of marital rape be treated by law enforcement the same as or more carefully than similar accusations of nonmarital rape;

For some reason you still keep trying to make a distinction between marital and non marital rape in terms of prosecution and punishment. I urge you to drop that attitude and instead focus on making them being treated the same.

The clause that you quote deals with neither prosecution nor punishment but rather the investigation of rapes. There is a good reason for being more careful when investigating marital rape cases: (1) marital rapes often are more violent than nonmarital rapes, and (2) survivors of marital rape usually live with those whom they are accusing of raping them.

Note that the current draft's definition of marital rape includes all cohabitants, primarily because some countries do not have marriage.

And you still speak of underdeveloped societies, primitive beliefs and archaic views in your preamble - that is rude and not the neutral tone I would expect from international legislation.

I apologize for my "rudeness" toward societies that condone rape, spousal abuse, and the oppression of women.

I might revise the preamble, but I see no reason to avoid calling marital rape what it is.

It's what the secretariat (OOC: mods) have ruled it to be. The Honoured Ambassador of Christian Democrats initially wanted the resolution to be categorized under human rights.

If this is the case, then I apologize and retract my statement. Although I'm not entirely sure how this fits under moral decency by any stretch of the imagination. By the same logic, GAR#23, and other similar resolutions where morally despicable actions are banned would also fall under moral decency.

I am rather agnostic with respect to the proposal category. I see good reasons for this to be considered a human rights proposal, and I also see good reasons for it to be in the moral decency category. The Secretariat has ruled that this proposal belongs in the moral decency category because it would increase government intervention in private (mis)conduct.

[Araraukar]

I might revise the preamble, but I see no reason to avoid calling marital rape what it is.

It is possible to call an act horrible, without calling the society in which it happens, barbaric or archaic of primitive. (OOC example: marital rape isn't specifically defined as illegal in China, but if you went outright calling China a primitive culture of barbaric people with archaic world views, I think you'd be risking official warning for flaming.)

[Hirota]

I might revise the preamble, but I see no reason to avoid calling marital rape what it is.

It is possible to call an act horrible, without calling the society in which it happens, barbaric or archaic of primitive. (OOC example: marital rape isn't specifically defined as illegal in China, but if you went outright calling China a primitive culture of barbaric people with archaic world views, I think you'd be risking official warning for flaming.)

Whilst I personally agree with the language CD has used, I'd concede that a nation seeking the maximum support would consider using slightly more veiled language.

[Alderloca]

Why are we talking about rape. It's unavoidable, drop the subject.

[The Princehood of Lithonia]

I definitely give my support to this proposal. I pray that it will bring back the dignity of marriage and promote the protection of women by (and sometimes from) their husbands. It is a sad day when people take marriage as little more than an association in which they can let their lusts have free reign.

[Tjennewell]

The clause that you quote deals with neither prosecution nor punishment but rather the investigation of rapes. There is a good reason for being more careful when investigating marital rape cases: (1) marital rapes often are more violent than nonmarital rapes, and (2) survivors of marital rape usually live with those whom they are accusing of raping them.

And again, in Tjennewell I would want our police to investigate all and every case of rape with the utmost care and not give some cases special treatment. I don't mind you reminding the responsible authorities of some factors unique to these cases (though personally I don't think they need to be spelled out in the legislative text), but I am very much opposed at wording things in a way that suggests special treatment. Just think about it: Would you want anyone in your circle of friends to recieve a less carefull investigation after a rape incident, just because the offender was a stranger instead of a spouse? Because once someone gets a more careful investigation, others will have to suffer a less careful one.

I apologize for my "rudeness" toward societies that condone rape, spousal abuse, and the oppression of women.

I might revise the preamble, but I see no reason to avoid calling marital rape what it is.

I don't mind you calling marital rape just that. But that isn't what you are doing. You are calling societies, their beliefs and views names. Mostly because you think them to be responsible for the marital rape taking place. In some cases that might be true, in others, it might not. And even where it is true, it still doesn't automatically turn views archaic or beliefs primitive - it just shows that there is a very serious side effect that needs to be mended. So yeah, I don't see a reason for going out insulting and offending the very people you actually should reach out for to make them able to change.

On a side note: Is there any reason other than your personal archaic views that you only think of the oppression of women when there very well could be the male gender subject to the same kind of oppression in a culture different from yours?

[ALMF]

I'm still looking for the backdoor where the esteemed Ambassador from CD tries to force his religious views on us...
I've not found it yet.

Seems like a good proposal. But I'm still careful.

I'm with you there, and ,tentatively, with the peropsle

[Ossitania]

Here's my suggestion for a revised text;

The General Assembly,

Realizing that many societies wrongly consider consent to marriage or consent to a relationship to be consent to sexual intercourse,

Further realizing that many member states lack laws against marital rape, do not enforce laws against marital rape, or have laws against marital rape that are less severe than laws against other kinds of rape,

Seeking to ensure that its member states treat accusations and acts of marital rape just as severely as they treat other accusations and acts of rape occurring outside of committed relationships,

1. Defines marital rape, as used in this resolution, as an act of sexual assault or sexual abuse that is committed against an individual by a spouse, civil partner, domestic partner, registered partner, cohabitant, or someone who formerly had such a relationship with the individual;

2. Mandates that accusations of marital rape be treated by law enforcement the same as or more carefully than similar accusations of nonmarital rape, especially because survivors of marital rape usually live with their attackers;

3. Requires that member states and political subdivisions thereof, in their laws on sexual assault and sexual abuse, eliminate all legal distinctions between marital rapes and nonmarital rapes;

4. Prohibits discrimination between marital and nonmarital rapes in the application of sexual assault and sexual abuse laws, namely with regard to the punishment of individuals who commit the crime of rape;

5. Decrees that consent to marriage, civil union, civil partnership, domestic partnership, registered partnership, or cohabitation shall never be considered consent to sexual activity under any circumstances; and

6. Encourages member states to take sufficient steps, such as the establishment of public awareness or special counseling programs, to reduce the number of instances of marital rape in the country.

The General Assembly,

Recognizing that domestic violence continues to be a problem in many of its member states,

Expressing its strong opposition to all acts of sexual violence,

Realizing that many underdeveloped societies countenance domestic violence, namely marital rape, because of primitive beliefs that treat people as if they were the property of their spouses or because of archaic views that wrongly consider consent to marriage or consent to a relationship to be consent to sexual intercourseeach and every time that it is desired by the partner,

Further realizing that many member states lack laws against marital rape, do not enforce laws against marital rape, or have laws against marital rape that are less severe than laws against other kinds of rape,

Seeking to ensure that its member states treat accusations and acts of marital rape just as severely as they treat other accusations and acts of rape occurring outside of committed relationships,

1. Defines marital rape, as used in this resolution, as an act of sexual assault or sexual abuse that is committed against an individual by a spouse, civil partner, domestic partner, registered partner, cohabitant, or someone who formerly had such a relationship with the individual;

2. Mandates that accusations of marital rape be treated by law enforcement the same as or more carefully than similar accusations of nonmarital rape, especially because survivors of marital rape usually live with their attackers;

3. Requires that member states and political subdivisions thereof, in their laws on sexual assault and sexual abuse, eliminate all legal distinctions between marital rapes and nonmarital rapesoccurring under otherwise identical circumstances;

4. Prohibits discrimination between marital and nonmarital rapes in the application of sexual assault and sexual abuse laws, namely with regard to the punishment of individuals who commit the crime of rape;

5. Decrees that consent to marriage, civil union, civil partnership, domestic partnership, registered partnership, or cohabitation shall not never be considered consent to sexual activitywhenever it is desired by the spouse, partner, or cohabitant under any circumstances; and

6. Encourages member states where marital rape is common to take sufficient steps, such as the establishment of public awareness or special counseling programs, to reduce the number of instances of marital rape in the country.

1. I took out all the inflammatory references to underdeveloped societies and primitive beliefs because they are inaccurate and offensive.
2. I took out the idea of "each and every time the spouse wants it" because that implies that a marriage contract is ever consent to sex.
3. I took out "otherwise identical circumstances" for being superfluous.
4. I took out the specification for member states "where marital rape is common", since I'd encourage such steps regardless.

I'd also like to say that I don't buy this as moral decency. Under the logic being put forward, any legislation enshrining any protective right is moral decency, when one would assume that any legislation on a human right goes in the human rights category, and this is clearly enshrining equality in the right to be free from rape.

[Oneracon]

I definitely give my support to this proposal. I pray that it will bring back the dignity of marriage and promote the protection of women by (and sometimes from) their husbands. It is a sad day when people take marriage as little more than an association in which they can let their lusts have free reign.

Well it also protects husbands from their wives, and husbands from their husbands, and wives from their wives. So I guess that's good too.

[The Princehood of Lithonia]

I definitely give my support to this proposal. I pray that it will bring back the dignity of marriage and promote the protection of women by (and sometimes from) their husbands. It is a sad day when people take marriage as little more than an association in which they can let their lusts have free reign.

Well it also protects husbands from their wives, and husbands from their husbands, and wives from their wives. So I guess that's good too.

True enough. But being a Social Conservative, I could care less about the same-sex protections. However, this does further some of my beliefs.

[Quadrimmina]

The resolution I would support:

The World Assembly,

IN ACCORDANCE with all semblances of common human decency and dignity, including the right to control one's body and the right to consent to or refuse sexual advances.

DECLARES all forms of rape, defined herein as sexual contact with another individual who has not provided consent for such contact, a crime in all member nations.

REQUIRES that anyone found guilty of rape must be sentenced to the fullest extent of the law of the member nation for a felony conviction.

PROVIDES the International Criminal Court as an appeals court in the case that a member state may not provide an adequate punishment for the rape, to revise a punishment as appropriate to be stringent enough for such a heinous act.

[Linux and the X]

DECLARES all forms of rape, defined herein as sexual contact with another individual who has not provided consent for such contact, a crime in all member nations.

That definition doesn't work. The (claimed) goal of this proposal is to prevent marriage from being treated as permanent consent. Your definition also does not allow for the withdrawal of consent.

[South Aztlan]

DECLARES all forms of rape, defined herein as sexual contact with another individual who has not provided consent for such contact, a crime in all member nations.

That definition doesn't work. The (claimed) goal of this proposal is to prevent marriage from being treated as permanent consent. Your definition also does not allow for the withdrawal of consent.

It is treated like a crime againts humankind

[Quadrimmina]

DECLARES all forms of rape, defined herein as sexual contact with another individual who has not provided consent for such contact, a crime in all member nations.

That definition doesn't work. The (claimed) goal of this proposal is to prevent marriage from being treated as permanent consent. Your definition also does not allow for the withdrawal of consent.

Fair enough. I wrote it in 5 minutes. It was to prove a point. Marital rape doesn't get special treatment. All rape is wrong. All rape should be prosecuted. It's that simple.

The WA passing this resolution would create special classes of people who are protected from rape by the international community. It would be the codification of the belief that only sex in marriage is recognized internationally and only that type of sex matters. It would be a big step back in message from GAR#16.