Adultery

===Punishment===
In jurisdictions where adultery is illegal, punishments vary from fines (for example in the US state of [[Rhode Island]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://law.justia.com/codes/rhode-island/2012/title-11/chapter-11-6/chapter-11-6-2/|title=2012 Rhode Island General Laws :: Title 11 - Criminal Offenses :: Chapter 11-6 - Bigamy and Adultery :: Chapter 11-6-2 - Adultery.|access-date=2 September 2017|archive-date=2 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170902232743/http://law.justia.com/codes/rhode-island/2012/title-11/chapter-11-6/chapter-11-6-2/|url-status=live}}</ref>) to caning in parts of Asia.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/150-women-face-adultery-flogging-on-maldives-1757150.html|title=150 women face adultery flogging on Maldives|website=[[Independent.co.uk]]|date=22 July 2009|access-date=19 September 2017|archive-date=26 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226044109/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/150-women-face-adultery-flogging-on-maldives-1757150.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/02/17/malaysia.adultery.caning/index.html|title=3 women caned in Malaysia for adultery|website=CNN.com|first=Joe|last=Sterling|access-date=2 September 2017|archive-date=2 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170902225108/http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/02/17/malaysia.adultery.caning/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In fifteen countries<ref name="Thomson Reuters Foundation"/> the punishment includes [[stoning]], although in recent times it has been legally enforced only in Iran and Somalia.<ref name="auto"/> Most stoning cases are the result of [[mob violence]], and while technically illegal, no action is usually taken against perpetrators. Sometimes such stonings are ordered by informal village leaders who have ''de facto'' power in the community.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2015/11/04/asia/afghanistan-taliban-woman-stoning/index.html|title=Afghan woman stoned to death over adultery accusation|publisher=CNN|author1=Jethro Mullen|author2=Masoud Popalzai|date=4 November 2015 |access-date=2 September 2017|archive-date=2 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170902224628/http://edition.cnn.com/2015/11/04/asia/afghanistan-taliban-woman-stoning/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Adultery may have consequences under [[Civil law (common law)|civil law]] even in countries where it is not outlawed by the [[criminal law]]. For instance it may constitute ''fault'' in countries where the [[divorce law]] is [[Divorce#At-fault divorce|fault based]] or it may be a ground for [[tort]].

In some jurisdictions, the "intruder" (the third party) is punished, rather than the adulterous spouse. For instance art 266 of the Penal Code of South Sudan reads: "Whoever,  has  consensual  sexual intercourse  with  a  man  or woman who is and whom he or she has reason to believe to be the spouse of another person, commits the offence of adultery [...]".<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.wipo.int/edocs/lexdocs/laws/en/ss/ss014en.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2 September 2017 |archive-date=28 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170828210716/http://www.wipo.int/edocs/lexdocs/laws/en/ss/ss014en.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Similarly, under the [[adultery law in India]] (Section 497 of the Indian Penal Code, until overturned by the Supreme Court in 2018) it was a criminal offense for a man to have consensual sexual intercourse with a married woman, without the consent of her husband (no party was criminally punished in case of adultery between a married man and an unmarried woman).