《中英對照讀新聞》Malaysia to decide against outlawing marital rape 馬來西亞決定不立法禁止婚姻強暴

◎羅彥傑

Malaysia is likely to decide against outlawing rape within marriage because the move could clash with Islamic law and other religions, a report said.

馬來西亞可能決定不立法禁止婚姻強暴，因為此舉可能牴觸伊斯蘭律法與其他宗教，報導說。

Instead a parliamentary committee charged with reviewing the penal code has proposed that men who use threats to force their wives into having sex face five years imprisonment even if no assault takes place, the New Straits Times said.

取而代之的是，一個職司檢討刑法的國會委員會已提案，主張凡是威脅強迫妻子發生性行為的男子，要面臨五年有期徒刑，即使沒有發生任何攻擊，新海峽時報說。

"Marital rape could not be made an offence as the committee felt it would be inconsistent with Islamic laws and those of other religions," it said.

「婚姻強暴不能被當成犯罪，因為委員會覺得這與伊斯蘭及其他宗教的律法不一致，」它說。

Rights groups have been lobbying for years to have marital rape made an offence. The Women’s Aid Organisation said it was disappointed by the outcome and doubted whether the new penalty would be effective.

女權團體多年來一直遊說，希望將婚姻強暴入罪。 婦女援助組織說，它對這項結果感到不滿，而且懷疑新罰則是否能有效執行。

The issue of marital rape is disputed in Islam, but conservative Malaysian scholars maintain that a husband cannot be guilty of raping his wife, arguing a man has a right to sexual relations with his spouse, who must submit.

婚姻強暴問題在伊斯蘭教義中受到爭議，但馬來西亞保守派學者主張丈夫不可能因強暴妻子而犯罪，堅稱男子有權與配偶發生性關係，而配偶必須順從。

新聞辭典

decide against：決定不∼，後面常接動名詞。例句：He decided against leaving.（他決定不離開了。）

charged with：片語，肩負∼任務。例句：The Central Bank is charged with fighting inflation.（央行負有對抗通貨膨脹的任務。）

submit：動詞，順從。例句：The President will not submit to foreign Pressure.（總統將不會屈從於外國壓力。）