After more than six years of hearings, the Delhi High Court is ready to deliver a verdict on the petitions arguing that marital rape should become a crime in India, only one of 36 countries where it is not. A 2021 study estimated that 5.4 million Indian women affected by spousal sexual violence required psychiatric counselling. Counsellors and experts narrate how the absence of legal protection is forcing survivors into a cycle of sexual abuse and silence.
