Sexual violence within intimate relationships is a common phenomenon with severe consequences for the mental, physical, and sexual health of the victims. The aim of this paper is to describe different aspects of this issue.

We synthesized the reviews and recent empirical studies listed on PsycInfo related to sexual violence within intimate relationships. The background literature on this form of violence allowed us to examine the extent of marital rape in different societies and to document the main physical, psychological and sexual consequences on victimized women.

Available data on the incidence and prevalence indicate that 7 to 50% of women across the world are victims of marital rape and that it is frequently associated with physical violence from the partner. The consequences for women are numerous and can include post-traumatic stress disorder and depression, vaginal or anal stretching, cystitis, miscarriage, unwanted pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections, sexual dysfunction and chronic genital pain.

By the repetitive nature of sexual assault within intimate relationships and the co-occurrence of physical violence, women experiencing sexual violence by a partner are among the most severely victimized individuals in our society. Despite the important consequences, as severe as those suffered by rape victims from strangers, women victims of rape by an intimate partner rarely receive the appropriate attention and care. Because they lack training about this issue, few health care providers routinely assess this form of violence in their practice and rare are the centers who offer the specialized resources needed to provide appropriate treatment for these women. Therefore, intervention with victims and detection issues are also addressed.