Rape within marriage is crime

Laws are already on the books in some states in Mexico and in Mexico City establishing the crime of rape within marriage but the unanimous ruling now makes it illegal anywhere in Mexico. Laws are already on the books establishing the crime of rape within marriage.

Mexico's Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that forced sexual relations within marriage constitutes rape, making it a crime throughout the country for the first time.

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Laws are already on the books in some states in Mexico and in Mexico City establishing the crime of rape within marriage but the unanimous ruling now makes it illegal anywhere in Mexico.

"The judges concluded that when one of the partners obtains copulation through violent means - whether physical or moral - it constitutes the crime of rape," the high court said in a statement.

In 1994, the court ruled that forced relations represented the "improper exercise" of the right under marriage to have sexual relations but it was not deemed a crime.