Photograph provided by the author.
Karolyn Gehrig, a queer disabled artist, writer, and advocate, offers a powerful account of her experience:
"The DA declined to prosecute my ex-husband. “You have proof,” I said. “Yes, but our concern is that a jury of your peers will find it difficult to believe a man would do this to his disabled wife.” A dozen jurors picked randomly by mail could look at me and decide my dowry was rape."
Spousal Rape Exemptions Persist
The spousal rape exemption is a legacy from 18th century English common law in which women were essentially the sexual property of their husbands—the theory being that they had given irrevocable sexual consent at marriage. Since the 1970s, 42 states have removed these exemptions, but California has lagged behind.
Assembly Bill 1171 (Chapter 626, Statutes of 2021) eliminated most differences between how spousal rape and non-spousal rape are treated in the California Penal Code but left a disparity when a person is unable to consent due to a disability.
We must continue the fight until every survivor is protected. SB 258 eliminates the California exemption and establishes that rape is rape, regardless of a victim’s abilities and their relationship to the perpetrator.
California is one of eight states with a spousal rape exception. In 2024, Newsweek reported a summary of states with spousal rape loopholes. Since the time of that publication, Ohio past a bill banning spousal rape.
Silent Epidemic of Sexual Violence
Against Disabled People
Disabled people are four times as likely to be sexually assaulted compared to their nondisabled counterparts, according to a survey conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Justice. The same survey found that only 19% of sexual assaults against disabled people are reported, compared to 36% of those against nondisabled people. Disabled survivors are less likely to be believed due to ableist myths about their sexuality and autonomy.
The Center for American Progress took a deeper look at sexual violence and the disability community. "...People with disabilities—and especially women—already experience ableism in a world not designed to meet their access needs. This forces them to deal with an additional level of objectification in a patriarchal society with a power dynamic that restricts access and autonomy."