A rape is a rape, even when it is committed by a man on his wife, the Gujarat High Court has observed, citing that the silence shrouding sexual violence against women in India needs to be broken.In an order passed recently, Justice Divyesh Joshi observed that the actual incidences of violence against women in India are probably much higher than what the data suggests, and women may continue to face hostility and remain in environments where they are subject to violence.Social attitude typically characterises certain behaviours such as stalking, shades of verbal and physical assault, and harassment as “minor” offences, which are “regrettably” not only trivialised or normalised but even romanticised and promoted in popular lore such as cinema, the order stated.A rape is a rape, even when it is committed by a man on his wife, the Gujarat High Court has observed, citing that the silence shrouding sexual violence against women in India needs to be broken.In an order passed recently, Justice Divyesh Joshi observed that the actual incidences of violence against women in India are probably much higher than what the data suggests, and women may continue to face hostility and remain in environments where they are subject to violence.Social attitude typically characterises certain behaviours such as stalking, shades of verbal and physical assault, and harassment as “minor” offences, which are “regrettably” not only trivialised or normalised but even romanticised and promoted in popular lore such as cinema, the order stated.