Adultery
Adultery is generally defined as sexual intercourse by a married person (with his or her consent) with someone other than their lawful spouse. There is usually an implicit or explicit agreement between spouses not to do this. If there is such an agreement it is also called infidelity or unfaithfulness. By extension these concepts may apply for other sexual activities.A marriage in which adultery is acceptable to both parties is known as an open marriage.
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Historically adultery was been subject to severe sanctions including the death penalty and has been grounds for divorce under fault-based divorce laws. In some places the method for punishing adultery was traditionally stoning to death.
In some jurisdictions, adultery is still illegal. Enforcement of laws against adultery is often uneven -- in many places, women are punished more harshly than men, in some cases being considered guilty of adultery even when they did not consent to sex. In the original Napoleonic Code, a man could asked to be divorced from his wife if she committed adultery, but the adultery of the husband was not a sufficient motive unless he had kept his concubine in the family home.
Many countries practicing Islamic Sharia law retain the death penalty for adultery.
Penalties for adultery
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External links