Adultery

===Criticism of adultery laws===
Laws against adultery have been named as invasive and incompatible with principles of [[limited government]].{{Citation needed|date=May 2023}} Much of the criticism comes from [[libertarianism]], the consensus among whose adherents is that government must not intrude into daily personal lives and that such disputes are to be settled privately rather than [[Prosecution|prosecuted]] and [[Sanctions (law)|penalized]] by [[public entities]]. It is also argued that adultery laws are rooted in religious doctrines; which should not be the case for laws in a [[secular state]].

Historically, in most cultures, laws against adultery were enacted only to prevent women—and not men—from having sexual relations with anyone other than their spouses,{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}} with adultery being often defined as sexual intercourse between a married woman and a man other than her husband.{{Citation needed|date=January 2016}} Among many cultures the [[punishment|penalty]] was—and to this day still is, as noted [[#Violence|below]]—[[capital punishment]]. At the same time, men were free to maintain sexual relations with any women ([[polygyny]]) provided that the women did not already have husbands or "owners". Indeed, [[Wiktionary:בעל|בעל]] (ba`al), Hebrew for ''husband'', used throughout the [[Bible]], is synonymous with ''owner''. These laws were enacted in fear of [[cuckoldry]] and thus [[sexual jealousy]]. Many indigenous customs, such as [[female genital mutilation]]<ref>[https://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs241/en/index.html "Female genital mutilation"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110702174226/http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs241/en/index.html |date=2 July 2011 }}, World Health Organization, February 2010.</ref> and even [[menstrual taboo]]s,<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Strassman | first1 = B.I. | year = 1992 | title = The function of menstrual taboos among the Dogon: defense against cuckoldry? | doi = 10.1007/bf02692249 | pmid = 24222401 | journal = Human Nature | volume = 3 | issue = 2| pages = 89–131 | s2cid = 25712774 }}</ref> have been theorized to have originated as preventive measures against cuckolding. This arrangement has been deplored by many modern intellectuals.

Opponents of adultery laws argue that these laws maintain social norms which justify violence, discrimination and oppression of women; in the form of state sanctioned forms of violence such as [[stoning]], [[flogging]] or [[hanging]] for adultery; or in the form of individual acts of violence committed against women by husbands or relatives, such as [[honor killings]], [[crimes of passion]], and beatings.<ref name="ohchr.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=12672& |title=Statement by the United Nations Working Group on discrimination against women in law and in practice |work=ohchr.org |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150306103836/http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=12672& |archive-date=6 March 2015 }}</ref><ref name="endvawnow.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.endvawnow.org/en/articles/738-decriminalization-of-adultery-and-defenses.html|title=Decriminalization of adultery and defenses|work=endvawnow.org|access-date=31 March 2014|archive-date=10 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140410201544/http://www.endvawnow.org/en/articles/738-decriminalization-of-adultery-and-defenses.html|url-status=live}}</ref> [[UN Women]] has called for the decriminalization of adultery.<ref name="endvawnow.org"/>

An argument against the criminal status of adultery is that the resources of the law enforcement are limited, and that they should be used carefully; by investing them in the investigation and prosecution of adultery (which is very difficult) the curbing of serious violent crimes may suffer.<ref>''Suffolk law review, The Validity of Criminal Adultery Prohibitions After Lawrence v.Texas''; pg. 859 "Lack of enforcement suggests the prevailing view that police resources are better spent elsewhere."[http://suffolklawreview.org/wp-content/uploads/2006/04/Viator_Note_Final.pdf] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140418220808/http://suffolklawreview.org/wp-content/uploads/2006/04/Viator_Note_Final.pdf|date=18 April 2014}}</ref>

Human rights organizations have stated that legislation on sexual crimes must be based on [[consent]], and must recognize consent as central, and not trivialize its importance; doing otherwise can lead to legal, social or ethical abuses. Amnesty International, when condemning stoning legislation that targets adultery, among other acts, has referred to "acts which should never be criminalized in the first place, including consensual sexual relations between adults".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/for-media/press-releases/afghanistan-reject-stoning-flogging-amputation-and-other-taliban-era-punish |title=Amnesty International &#124; Afghanistan: Reject stoning, flogging, amputation and other Taliban-era punishments |access-date=4 December 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140420193225/http://www.amnesty.org/en/for-media/press-releases/afghanistan-reject-stoning-flogging-amputation-and-other-taliban-era-punish |archive-date=20 April 2014 }}</ref> Salil Shetty, Amnesty International's Secretary General, said: "It is unbelievable that in the twenty-first century some countries are condoning [[child marriage]] and [[marital rape]] while others are outlawing abortion, sex outside marriage and same-sex sexual activity{{snd}}even punishable by death."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/news/sexual-and-reproductive-rights-under-threat-worldwide-2014-03-06|title=Sexual and reproductive rights under threat worldwide|work=amnesty.org|access-date=8 May 2014|archive-date=6 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141206225115/http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/sexual-and-reproductive-rights-under-threat-worldwide-2014-03-06|url-status=live}}</ref> The ''My Body My Rights'' campaign has condemned state control over individual sexual and reproductive decisions; stating "All over the world, people are coerced, criminalized and discriminated against, simply for making choices about their bodies and their lives".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ACT35/001/2014/en|title=Document - Amnesty International - Amnesty International|work=amnesty.org|date=6 March 2014 |access-date=4 December 2016|archive-date=6 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141106033116/http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ACT35/001/2014/en|url-status=live}}</ref>