At a press conference held on Sunday, the Senior Pastor at Grace Community Church is voicing his concerns about the criminalization of marital rape.
Pastor Lyall Bethel told reporters, “we believe its inappropriate to call it marital rape because there’s a sense that within the marriage sexual relations are assumed. When a marriage becomes toxic a woman can escape and ought to escape that…make it very clear that her consent is no longer being offered. It is being termed spousal abuse because that’s what it is. Sexual relations is assumed in a marriage. What is not assumed is the a man should brutalize his wife, as we said referring to the scriptures, marriage assumes that a man is treating his wife with dignity and respect. If he’s not doing that he’s guilty of spousal abuse of his wife.”
