Criminal Law Reconstruction Of Marital Rape In Indonesia

The phenomenon of marital rape remains a complex issue in the Indonesian criminal law system. This study analyzes the normative, structural, and cultural issues in law enforcement against marital rape in Indonesia and proposes a direction for the reconstruction of ideal criminal law. This study aims to analyze the regulatory disharmony between the 2023 National Criminal Code, the Law on the Elimination of Domestic Violence, and the Sexual Violence Crime Law, besides to identify obstacles to law enforcement that weaken victim protection. A normative juridical method with a statutory and conceptual approach is used to examine the legal definition, structure of the offense, and legal definition of marital sexual violence. Secondary data sources derived from primary, secondary, and tertiary legal materials are processed using qualitative descriptive analysis techniques. The results show that obstacles to law enforcement against marital rape stem from normative gaps in the formulation of the offense, the nature of the complaint offense, and the definition of rape. From a cultural perspective, through social and patriarchal stigma, and structural aspects, as evidenced by the capacity of law enforcement officers, limited evidence, and the lack of integrated service mechanisms, this study recommends the need for criminal law reconstruction based on the principle of lack of consent, the elimination of complaint-based offenses, improving the quality of law enforcement, and building public awareness about women and gender equality through legal education and social campaigns.

Criminal justice · Criminal law · Law enforcement · Legal research · Normative · Public law · Statutory law · Indonesian Legal and Regulatory Studies · Legal and Policy Analysis in Indonesia · Legal and Social Justice Studies