Adultery

==Consequences==

===General===
For various reasons, most couples who marry do so with the expectation of [[Wiktionary:fidelity|fidelity]]. Adultery is often seen as a breach of trust and of the commitment that had been made during the act of marriage.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Encyclopædia Britannica Online, "Adultery" |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/6618/adultery |encyclopedia=Britannica.com |access-date=12 May 2011| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110427092349/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/6618/adultery| archive-date= 27 April 2011 | url-status= live}}</ref> Adultery can be emotionally traumatic for both spouses and often results in divorce.<ref>{{cite web|title=About.com Divorce Support, "Why Does Infidelity Often Lead to Divorce?" |url=http://divorcesupport.about.com/b/2011/05/12/why-does-infidelity-often-lead-to-divorce.htm |publisher=About.com |access-date=12 May 2011 }}{{dead link|date=June 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

Adultery may lead to ostracization from certain religious or social groups.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=6017|title=Library : Women as Guardians of Purity|work=catholicculture.org|access-date=12 May 2011|archive-date=12 September 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120912173357/http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=6017|url-status=live}}</ref>

Adultery can also lead to feelings of guilt and jealousy in the person with whom the affair is being committed. In some cases, this "third person" may encourage divorce (either openly or subtly).<ref>{{cite web|title=Signs of a Cheating Husband |url=http://www.beatingjealousy.com/blog/?p=21 |publisher=Beatingjealousy.com |access-date=12 May 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110905054412/http://www.beatingjealousy.com/blog/?p=21 |archive-date=5 September 2011 }}</ref> If the cheating spouse has hinted at divorce in order to continue the affair, the third person may feel deceived if that does not happen.<ref>{{cite web|title=Are You the Other Woman in an Affair |url=http://www.essortment.com/other-woman-affair-36524.html |publisher=Essortment.com |access-date=12 May 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120326012438/http://www.essortment.com/other-woman-affair-36524.html |archive-date=26 March 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title= Getting Over an Affair as the Other Woman |url= http://www.truthaboutdeception.com/community-features/ask-an-expert/questions-by-topic/infidelity/577-getting-over-an-affair-as-the-other-woman.html |publisher= Truthaboutdeception.com |access-date= 12 May 2011 |archive-date= 4 May 2011 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110504213245/http://www.truthaboutdeception.com/community-features/ask-an-expert/questions-by-topic/infidelity/577-getting-over-an-affair-as-the-other-woman.html |url-status= live }}</ref> They may simply withdraw with ongoing feelings of guilt, carry on an obsession with their lover, may choose to reveal the affair, or in rare cases commit violence or other crimes.<ref>{{cite web|title=Amy Fisher|url=http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/young/amy_fisher/index.html|publisher=trutv.com|access-date=12 May 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090125221246/http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/young/amy_fisher/index.html|archive-date=25 January 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref>

There is correlation between divorces and children having struggles in later life.<ref>{{cite web|title=nasponline.org, Divorce: A Parents' Guide for Supporting Children|url=http://www.nasponline.org/resources/parenting/divorce_ho.aspx|publisher=nasponline.org|access-date=12 May 2011|archive-date=5 January 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110105093709/http://www.nasponline.org/resources/parenting/divorce_ho.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Sexually transmitted infections===
{{Further|Sexually transmitted disease}}
Like any sexual contact, extramarital sex opens the possibility of the introduction of sexually-transmitted diseases (STDs) into a marriage. Since most married couples do not routinely use [[Birth control#Barrier|barrier contraceptive]]s,{{citation needed|date=August 2022}} STDs can be introduced to a marriage partner by a spouse engaging in unprotected extramarital sex. This can be a [[public health]] issue in regions of the world where STDs are common, but addressing this issue is very difficult due to legal and social barriers{{snd}}to openly talk about this situation would mean to acknowledge that adultery (often) takes place, something that is taboo in certain cultures, especially those strongly influenced by religion. In addition, dealing with the issue of barrier contraception in marriage in cultures where women have very few rights is difficult: the power of women to negotiate safer sex (or sex in general) with their husbands is often limited.<ref>{{Cite thesis |last=Mkandawire |first=Elizabeth |title=Socialisation of Malawian women and the negotiation of safe sex |date=2012 |type=Master's thesis |publisher=University of Pretoria |url=https://repository.up.ac.za/handle/2263/30079 |hdl=2263/30079 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aids2031.org/pdfs/safe%20and%20consensual%20sex%20are%20women%20empowered%20enough%20to%20negotiate.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=21 February 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140227101002/http://www.aids2031.org/pdfs/safe%20and%20consensual%20sex%20are%20women%20empowered%20enough%20to%20negotiate.pdf |archive-date=27 February 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Gender power imbalance on women's capacity to negotiate self-protection against HIV/AIDS in Botswana and South Africa | pmc=1831928 | pmid=16245988 | volume=5 | issue=3 | year=2005 | journal=Afr Health Sci | pages=188–97 | last1 = Langen | first1 = TT }}</ref> The [[World Health Organization]] (WHO) found that women in violent relations were at increased risk of [[HIV/AIDS]], because they found it very difficult to negotiate safe sex with their partners, or to seek medical advice if they thought they have been infected.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.who.int/hac/techguidance/pht/InfoBulletinIntimatePartnerViolenceFinal.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=21 February 2014 |archive-date=25 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131025220637/http://www.who.int/hac/techguidance/pht/InfoBulletinIntimatePartnerViolenceFinal.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>