People of the Philippines v. Edgar Jumawan, G.R. No. 187495 (2014)

In this case, a man was convicted of two counts of marital rape. He appealed the conviction arguing that marital rape is different from “ordinary rape” cases because consent is presumed between legally married and cohabiting couples. The Supreme Court rejected this argument as an attempt to revive antiquated and now-rejected standards that a husband could not be convicted of marital rape due to the “implied consent” of his wife. The Court also found that under modern jurisprudence, this argument would deny spouses equal protection under the Constitution and the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), and that the law and evidentiary rules on rape should apply uniformly regardless of the legal relationship between the accused and the accuser. Notably, this was the first documented case of marital rape to reach the Supreme Court of the Philippines.

Topics

• Domestic and intimate partner violence
• Sexual violence and rape

Geographical location

• Asia
• Philippines

Keywords

• cedaw
• consent
• criminal law and procedure
• customary law
• equal before the law
• equal protection
• implied consent
• marital rape
• right to bodily autonomy
• victim rights

Year

• 2014

External URL

• People of the Philippines v. Edgar Jumawan, G.R. No. 187495 (2014)

Court

• Supreme Court of the Philippines

Type

• Domestic Case Law

Jurisdiction

• Philippines