Adultery is extramarital sexual activity considered objectionable on social, religious and moral grounds, and in many jurisdictions it has carried legal consequences. Historically many legal systems treated it as a serious crime with severe penalties, and although most Western countries let direct criminal penalties fall into disfavor during the nineteenth century, adultery remains a criminal offense today chiefly in countries where the dominant religion is Islam, in several Sub-Saharan African Christian-majority countries, and also in the Philippines and some United States states, with punishments ranging from fines to caning and, under Sharia law in a small number of countries including Iran and Somalia, execution by stoning. Even where the criminal offense has been repealed, adultery can still affect divorce, custody and property settlements, and a United Nations human rights expert has argued it should not be classified as a criminal offense at all. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
Typical PenaltyWhere still criminalized, penalties range from fines to flogging, most commonly one hundred lashes for an unmarried person under Islamic law, up to stoning for a married person; stoning is authorized by law in a number of countries though in recent years it has reportedly been carried out only in Iran and Somalia. In jurisdictions without criminal penalties, adultery can still carry civil consequences such as being weighed in divorce, custody or property settlement proceedings. 1 Elements of OffenseExtramarital sexual relations engaged in by a married person, historically and in some jurisdictions still treated as an offense against social, religious or moral norms rather than a private matter alone. 1 Notable ExampleAnne Boleyn was tried and executed in 1536 on charges that included adultery and treason, though historians continue to debate whether the adultery charge was factually founded. 1 Jurisdiction VariationMost Western nations repealed criminal adultery laws during the twentieth century, followed by Austria in 1997, Chile in 1994, Argentina in 1995, Brazil in 2005 and Mexico in 2011. It remains criminalized in a number of Muslim majority countries applying Sharia derived law, in some Sub Saharan African jurisdictions, and in the Philippines, and remains on the books, if inconsistently enforced, in some jurisdictions within the United States. 1 Open Questions
Classification CodeNo single cross jurisdictional classification code applies. Where adultery remains a criminal offense it is codified within the penal code of the jurisdiction concerned, including jurisdictions applying Sharia derived law, rather than under a shared international classification, and most Western jurisdictions have repealed any criminal offense entirely. 1 Criminalization and its codification depend entirely on the jurisdiction; no international or model classification code covers adultery as a distinct offense. Classification
Offense GradeInfraction or Violation 1 In the Other Atlases
- Also in Geography Atlas: Africa, found in there.
- Also in Geography Atlas: Asia, found in there.
- Also in Geography Atlas: Europe, found in there.
- Also in Geography Atlas: North America, found in there.
- Also in Geography Atlas: South America, found in there.
Sources
1. Adultery (Wikipedia)
Wikipedialead paragraphQuote, lead paragraph
Adultery is generally defined as extramarital sex that is or was considered objectionable on social, religious and moral grounds, and which often resulted in legal consequences.
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