Marrying the Rapist: A Dark Reality Hidden Behind ‘Compromise’ in Indian Society

This study critically investigates an approach of pursuing compromising marriages to rape survivors with the perpetrators, an approach that greatly undermines not only legal but also moral framework. Rooted in socio-legal and psychological studies, this paper challenges such a regressive thought process-the thought that marriage could be a solution to rape or the rescue of the woman’s "honour". This paper exposes the post-2012 legislative reforms like the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita (2023), POCSO Act, and some constitutional provisions such as Articles 14 and 21 and pits them against the unfortunate judicial precedents that endorse compromise marriages. Drawing extensively from case law, literature, and psychological inputs, the paper illustrates how such traditions enforce trauma upon consenting women, institutionalize coercion, and trivialize the idea of justice. It also discusses the social factors-patriarchy, victim-blaming, ignorance of the concept of consent-that sustain this phenomenon. In the final analysis, it adumbrates reforms that attend to the survivor; that hold the State accountable; that embrace trauma-informed support systems; and that categorically repudiate compromise marriage as a resolution for rape. Only when the chasm between legal theory and social reality is bridged can true justice stand. Keywords: Rape, Marriage with Rapist, Psychological Trauma, Indian Judiciary, BNS Act, POCSO Act, Article 21, Patriarchy, Social Stigma.