My husband forced me: is it marital rape, and what can I do?

Your partner forced you into sex. You did not say yes, or you gave in out of fear, exhaustion or just to make it stop. What happened to you has a name: marital rape. It is not your fault. A lawyer can listen to you in confidence in 20 minutes on Avocat20min.fr.

This article starts with what helps right now, then explains French law, the complaint, protection and free legal support.

First, your safety

If you are in danger now, call 17 or 112. If you cannot speak, send a free text message to 114.

If the danger is not immediate, take a few minutes for yourself:

• Get somewhere safe, with a friend or relative, or ask for emergency shelter on 115.
• Call 3919 (Violences Femmes Info). The line is free, anonymous and open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It does not handle emergencies, but it listens and guides you.
• Contact France Victimes on 116 006, a free number for all victims, men included.
• Talk to a doctor, a friend or a support group: saying things out loud often helps you see more clearly.

You do not have to decide everything today. You can first talk, get care and protect yourself.

Care and evidence, at your own pace

See a doctor, at A&E or a local practice, even without visible injuries. They can prescribe emergency contraception, preventive treatment against infections and follow-up care. They can also write a medical certificate describing your condition, which will help later if you file a complaint.

If you can, keep anything that may serve as evidence:

• The clothes you wore that day, in a paper bag.
• Your partner's messages: apologies, threats, blame. Take dated screenshots.
• A written account of what happened, with the date, even a few lines.
• The names of the people you told.

After a complaint, the investigator may refer you to a forensic medical unit (unité médico-judiciaire, UMJ). A forensic doctor carries out an examination and samples there, with your consent. Nothing happens without you.

Marital rape under French law

The Criminal Code leaves no doubt. Article 222-22 covers rape and sexual assault "whatever the nature of the relationship between the attacker and the victim, including where they are married". Marriage, a civil partnership (PACS) or living together gives nobody any right over your body.

Since Law No. 2025-1057 of 6 November 2025, French law defines sexual assault as "any non-consensual sexual act". Consent must be free and informed, specific, given beforehand and revocable. The law adds that it cannot be inferred "from the victim's silence or lack of reaction alone".

In practice, several situations in a relationship amount to marital rape:

• You said no, or pushed your partner away, and he carried on.
• You were asleep, or had drunk too much to react.
• You gave in under threat: of leaving with the children, throwing you out or hitting you.
• You agreed to one act, then changed your mind and he did not stop.

Rape covers any act of sexual penetration, of whatever kind, and any oral-genital or oral-anal act (Article 222-23). Other forced sexual acts amount to sexual assault, which the law also punishes.

There is no "marital duty"

Many victims hear that a married couple "owes" each other sex. No law says so. On 23 January 2025, in H.W. v. France, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that refusing sexual relations could not justify a fault-based divorce.

A bill aims to write this into the Civil Code. The National Assembly passed it on 28 January 2026 and the Senate amended it on 9 April 2026. At the time of writing, it has not completed its passage. Criminal law already fully protects spouses.

Penalties

Rape carries up to fifteen years of criminal imprisonment. When the offender is the victim's spouse, cohabiting partner or PACS partner, the maximum rises to twenty years (Article 222-24, 11°).

Situation	Maximum sentence
Rape by a stranger or an acquaintance	15 years
Marital rape (spouse, cohabiting partner, PACS partner)	20 years
Rape witnessed by a child present	20 years (Article 222-24, 14°)
Sexual assault by a partner	7 years and a €100,000 fine

Article 132-80 of the Criminal Code extends the aggravating circumstance to former spouses and partners, where the act stems from the past relationship. It also applies when the couple did not live together.

A departmental criminal court (cour criminelle départementale), made up of five professional judges, tries adults accused of a crime carrying fifteen or twenty years at first instance (Article 380-16 of the Code of Criminal Procedure). Marital rape therefore normally goes before this court rather than the jury court.

Filing a complaint for marital rape

You can file a complaint at any police station or gendarmerie. Nobody may refuse it. You can also write directly to the public prosecutor (procureur de la République) at the judicial court.

A few pointers for that moment:

• You can come with someone, a relative or a support group, and ask to speak to an officer trained in domestic violence.
• A lawyer can assist you during your statement. Tell the officer in advance.
• Ask for a copy of your complaint and note the name of the unit.
• Report the danger: weapons, death threats, children at home. The response depends on it.

For marital rape, the time limit for a complaint is long. Prosecution of crimes is time-barred twenty years after the events (Article 7 of the Code of Criminal Procedure). You can therefore act years later, even though a prompt complaint makes evidence easier. Our article on the limitation period for rape covers the special cases.

If your partner forced you into sex with other people, read our guide on gang rape too.

Protection without waiting for a trial

After marital rape, you can obtain protection without filing a complaint. The family judge (juge aux affaires familiales) can issue a protection order (Articles 515-9 onwards of the Civil Code), with or without a prior complaint.

Measure	Who applies	Time frame
Protection order	You, or the prosecutor with your consent	6 days after the hearing date is set
Provisional immediate protection order	The prosecutor, with your consent, in serious and immediate danger	24 hours
Serious danger phone	The prosecutor	6 months, renewable
Anti-approach bracelet	The judge, with both parties' consent in civil proceedings	As decided

A protection order can ban your partner from contacting you, going to certain places or holding a weapon. The judge normally gives you the home, even if you had to move to emergency shelter. The judge also rules on the children and maintenance. The measures last up to twelve months, and longer if divorce or parental authority proceedings start in the meantime.

The judge can also let you keep your address secret and use your lawyer's office as your address.

A lawyer at your side, free of charge

For rape, legal aid (aide juridictionnelle) does not depend on your income: service-public confirms this for victims of the most serious crimes. You only need to apply. The lawyer you choose can then act for you at no cost.

A criminal lawyer can:

• prepare the complaint with you and gather useful material;
• join the case as civil party (partie civile), to access the file and claim damages;
• apply for the protection order and argue it before the family judge;
• go to the CIVI, the victims' compensation commission, normally within three years of the events.

Marital rape often weighs on the separation too. Our article on divorce by mutual consent explains why this route does not always suit cases of violence. If your residence permit depends on your relationship, the law protects you: see our guide on the residence permit for domestic violence victims.

You can find a criminal lawyer in our directory. The official service-public page on domestic violence also sets out the steps, in French.