A. Our ability to answer this question is limited, as so little research has focused on husband-rapists. It is, however, clear from the reports of the survivors that it is not due to a wife's withholding of sex (the most common myth). Most women who report being raped by their husbands also report having consensual sexual intercourse with them. Researchers who have spoken with husband-rapists conclude that husband-rapists rape to reinforce their power, dominance, or control over their wife or family, or to express anger.
Stereotypes about women and sex - such as: women enjoy forced sex, women say "no" when they really mean "yes," it's a wife's duty to have sex - continue to be reinforced in our culture through both mainstream and pornographic media. Such messages not only mislead men into believing that they should ignore a woman's protests, but also mislead women into believing that they themselves must have "sent the wrong signals," blaming themselves for unwanted sexual encounters, or believing that they are "bad wives" for not enjoying sex against their will.
