Check your answers to the questions by tapping or hovering over the images, and give yourself the specified points for every right answer. When you’re done, check your score against the key below.
Is marital sexual abuse a crime in WV?
Answer: No. Marital rape (sexual assault) has been a crime in all 50 states since 1993. But marital sexual abuse—meaning intentional sexual touching without penetration—is not a crime in WV. (3pts)
Is “rape” a crime in WV legal code?
Answer: No, not that word. What people call “rape” may be legally referred to as “sexual assault,” which is defined as sexual intercourse or sexual intrusion without consent. However, other acts that people would categorize as “rape” would instead be legally referred to as “sexual abuse” instead of “sexual assault.”
(3pts)
Are sexual abuse and sexual assault the same thing in WV law?
.
Answer: No. Legally, sexual assault is defined as sexual intercourse or sexual intrusion without consent, while sexual abuse is defined as subjecting another person to sexual contact without their consent.
(2pts)
Is unwanted sexual touching or fondling without consent considered sexual assault in WV?
Answer: No, sexual assault requires “penetration, however slight” under WV law. Unwanted sexual touching would be considered sexual abuse—but only in some cases.
(2pts)
Is there a legal difference between sexual assault and sexual abuse in WV?
Answer: Yes. The main difference is that sexual assault requires intercourse or “penetration, however slight,” without consent, while sexual abuse refers to intentional sexual touching without consent.
Another main legal difference in WV is that there is a marriage exception for sexual abuse, but not for sexual assault, meaning there are no grounds to charge a spouse with sexually abusing you.
(1pt)
In WV law, is sexual contact defined the same way for everyone?
Answer: No, there is an exemption for people who are married …. meaning, any sexual abuse crimes that refer to sexual contact are NOT crimes between married partners.
(3pts)
Is everyone protected from sexual violence in West Virginia?
Answer: No. Sexual violence occurs in many forms and WV code identifies many of them as crimes. But not everyone is protected. People who are married don’t have the same protections.
(2pts)
Does WV Code protect you from sexual contact without your consent?
Answer: No, not always. Currently WV Code prohibits sexual contact (intentional sexual touching) without consent…but only if you’re not married.
(3pts)
In WV, if you’re separated or getting a divorce, can your spouse force sexual contact on you if you don’t want them to?
Answer: Yes. In WV, the law presumes your consent to sexual contact when you’re married–even if the contact is abusive. Depending on the specific situation, there may be grounds for other charges, such as breaking and entering, or battery. But there would be no grounds for sexual abuse charges in WV.
(2pts)
Under WV law, do married people have fewer protections from sexual abuse than people who aren’t married?
Answer: Yes. Under WV law, there is a sexual abuse exemption for abusers who are married to their victims…. meaning sexual violence occurring as sexual contact is not a crime between married partners.
(3pts)
In WV can your spouse be charged with sexual abuse if they physically force sexual contact on you?
Answer: No, they cannot be charged with sexual abuse.
In West Virginia, your spouse can use physical force to sexually abuse you and it’s not a sexually violent crime.
(2pts)
Is it important that someone’s crime is categorized as a sexually violent crime?
.
Answer: Yes. It is incredibly horrifying and invalidating for victims to discover, for example, that their soon-to-be ex-spouse who broke down their door and sexually abused them can only be charged with the breaking and entering part.
(3pts)
Are there grounds to charge your spouse with sexual abuse if they admit to sexually abusing you while you were unconscious?
.
Answer: Not in WV. In WV your spouse can sexually abuse you while you’re unconscious and avoid charges. Because of the marital sexual abuse loophole, there are no legal grounds for charging them, even if they admit they sexually abused you.
(3pts)
What about if they use fear of immediate death to force you to have sexual contact? Are there grounds to charge someone with a sexually violent crime then?
Answer: Not if the abuser is your spouse.
In West Virginia, if you’re married (see code), your partner can use the fear of immediate death or bodily injury to forcibly sexually abuse you – and it’s not a sexually violent crime.
(2pts)
In WV, can someone legally sexually abuse you when you’re in a coma or physically helpless?
.
Answer: Yes, if you’re married to them (see code).
In WV code, it’s not a sexually violent crime for someone to sexually abuse you, so long as the perpetrator is your spouse—even if you’re unconscious or physically helpless.
(2pts)
In WV, if someone admits to sexually abusing you while you’re drugged, drunk, or otherwise incapacitated, are there grounds for sexual abuse charges?
Answer: Not if the person abusing you is your spouse.
In West Virginia, if you are mentally incapacitated, your spouse can sexually abuse you – and it’s not a sexually violent crime.
(3pts)
Is it true that if WV removes the marriage exception it will be illegal for spouses to sexually touch each other?
Answer: No, that’s false.
However, you legally would no longer be able to force sexual contact on your spouse using physical force, threats, or fear of harm or death.
Removing the marriage exception would close WV’s legal loophole and provide equal protection from sexual abusers to married people. It wouldn’t regulate loving and consensual touch.
(2pts)
In WV are there grounds to charge someone with sexual abuse if they admit to sexually abusing you while you’re unconscious?
Answer: Not if you’re married.
In WV it is legal for your spouse to sexually abuse you when you’re unconscious—even if you’re separated, and even if you’re in the process of a getting a divorce.
(3pts)
In WV are there grounds to charge someone with sexual abuse if they admit to using physical force to sexually abuse you?
Answer: Not if you’re married.
In WV there would only be grounds to charge the perpetrator if there are crimes related to the physical force (which would vary based on the specific circumstances)—not for sexual abuse. People married to abusers have fewer protections.
(2pts)
Can you be charged with sexual abuse of your spouse in West Virginia?
.
Answer: No. While sexual abuse is a common form of domestic violence, and we don’t legally allow physical violence between married partners, there’s a loophole in WV Code that means sexual abuse is currently permitted under WV law so long as the perpetrator and victim are married (see code).
(2pts)
If we remove the legal loophole, would I need to get verbal consent from my spouse
every time I want to touch them?
Answer: No. If you have a healthy, loving relationship, you and your spouse will already know when you’re comfortable touching one another.
What this would change is that you couldn’t legally force sexual contact on them if your spouse said “no” or was unable to consent (for reasons such as being in a coma or being afraid you’ll kill them if they don’t say yes).
If you’re not forcing sexual contact on your spouse, this change won’t affect you. The change targets abusers only.
Removing the loophole simply adds protections from sexual abuse for all victims–including married people.
(2pts)
Consent is important for determining whether a sexual crime happened. According to WV code there is no consent when the victim…
Give yourself the appropriate number of points for every correct answer.
</font color=”#ebbaff”>20 or fewer points = You’re an optimist… a very wrong optimist, but an optimist. And your morals are stellar: you know how the law should read. Now that you know what is says in reality, help inform your legislators and join us in our optimism that public policy will change for the better for survivors.
20 – 40 points = You thought WV law was bad on this issue, but you didn’t realize quite how bad! Sexual abuse is a common form of domestic violence. We don’t legally allow physical violence between married partners. We shouldn’t allow sexual violence between married partners, either. This is one area where we can all agree the law must change to protect survivors.
40 – 50 points = Hello, fellow West Virginian. Even if you couldn’t quote chapter and verse of West Virginia code, you’re informed enough to guess the answers correctly. With a part-time legislature, sometimes injustices like this hang around in our code for far, far too long. But we can make fixing this injustice a legislative priority this year, with your help!
No matter your quiz score, you can join our efforts to remove West Virginia’s spousal sexual abuse legal loophole.
Do you think your legislators know as much about the law as you do now? We think if they knew about this loophole, the law would change.
Sign up below to work to improve public policy for survivors in WV.
It’s true. In West Virginia, the sexual abuse laws still have the marital exception loophole, even though sexual assault laws don’t have that loophole.
Sexual abuse (first degree, second degree, and third degree) is when someone subjects another person to sexual contact without consent. In WV Code, sexual contact is defined as…
…any intentional touching, either directly or through clothing, of the breasts, buttocks, anus or any part of the sex organs of another person, or intentional touching of any part of another person’s body by the actor’s sex organs, where the victim is not married to the actor and the touching is done for the purpose of gratifying the sexual desire of either party.
Additionally, for the criminal offense of sexual abuse, WV Code defines marriage as including people living together as spouses “regardless of the legal status of their relationship.”
Therefore, in West Virginia, if your legal spouse or even your live-in partner makes sexual contact in an abusive manner (meaning without your consent) there is a legal loophole that means there are no grounds for sexual abuse charges.