Infidelity is sadly a common topic when you’re talking about relationships, although everyone has a different reaction to knowing their partner has cheated. Some tend to continue what they were doing after knowing that their partner cheated on them, while others choose to peacefully walk away because they believe that they deserve so much better than that.
Meanwhile, there are others who are not as forgiving or as tolerant about knowing their partners have a secret boo. Other people are willing to go to drastic measures just to ensure that cheating jerks get what they deserve. Have you seen the wife who cut her cheating husband’s reproductive organs? Yikes.
So, what do you do when you have a husband or wife that has cheated on you? It probably depends on how angry and upset you are. It also depends on how much you “love” that person and the history of your relationship.
But to heck with forgiveness, right? Interestingly enough, here are the countries where you can send a cheating spouse to jail.
1. Philippines
In the Philippines, “cheating” is defined as having sexual intercourse with someone other than your spouse. For legal punishment—feminists may have to disagree with this one—men may go to jail for up to four and a half years, while women may go to jail for a maximum of six years.
Additionally, if the man cheats on his wife, his “kabit” or mistress, will be sentenced to exile for four years. If a wife is guilty on the other hand, the man she cheated with may be imprisoned for up to six years.
2. Taiwan
In Asia, Taiwan and the Philippines are the only remaining countries that treat infidelity as a crime. Based on Taiwan’s law, married spouses who commit adultery are imprisoned for up to one year.
The third party is not safe from the law either, as he or she is also sentenced to four months in jail for each adulterous act.
3. United States
There are seven U.S. states that have “alienation of affections” laws, including North Carolina, Oklahoma, Hawaii, and South Dakota.
Under an alienation of affections law, the prosecutor doesn’t have to prove their partner had sex with another person, just that they were engaged in an extramarital relationship that caused them to receive less love and attention than if the affair hadn’t occurred.
4. Indonesia
The Indonesian government itself doesn’t have cheating-related laws, but much of the country is Muslim and abides by Sharia.
In the province of Aceh, adultery is a religious crime called “zina.” Zina includes the act of intercourse outside of marriage and can be punished by lashings for 100 times, fines of gold, or imprisonment.
5. Brunei
Just like in Indonesia, Brunei has taken steps to integrate its interpretation of Islamic law into its common laws. There is a new addition to the penal code (based on Islamic law) which calls for adultery offenders to be stoned to death in front of witnesses.
However, after an international outcry about the policy, the Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah, said the death penalty would not be enforced.
6. Rwanda
If you have sex with another person as a married individual in Rwanda, you could be jailed for six months to a year and may pay a fine.
The fine is between 100,000 and 200,000 Rwandan francs, or equivalent to PHP 6,000 to PHP 12,000. There might be a cheap price here, isn’t it?
If the cheater is also found to be living with the person they are cheating with, the punishment gets worse, extending their prison time to up to two years.
7. Afghanistan
Having an affair in Afghanistan can land you “a long imprisonment,” according to the Sexual Rights Database.
8. Saudi Arabia
In Saudi Arabia, adultery is a crime punishable by stoning. Per Sharia, a person can only be convicted of adultery if they confess four times in front of the court or if four male Muslim witnesses confirm the crime.
However, Saudi Arabia has no formal penal code, giving judges broad discretion.
They also have the third-highest rate of executions in the country making it a dangerous place for infidelity.
9. Northern Nigeria
Adulterers can also face death by stoning in Northern Nigeria. They have a penal code which criminalizes any sex outside of marriage under Sharia, just like Indonesia and Brunei. In some good news, adultery is not considered a crime in Southern Nigeria.
If you’ve come this far, just a reminder—the information contained in this post is not meant to be used as a guide on how to escape cheating! While infidelity may be acceptable in some countries, and among some cultures, others have a far more hostile response to unfaithful spouses.
Anyone thinking of cheating on their partner should really try and read up on the laws of their country before they cheat, or you know, try being a lawfully good person and stay faithful to your husband or wife.
Source: www.international-divorce.com/2016/11/philippines-laws-on-adultery.html, www.asiasentinel.com/p/taiwans-archaic-adultery-law, https://sexualrightsdatabase.org/countries/373/Indonesia, www.npr.org/2019/05/06/720598000/brunei-wont-enforce-death-by-stoning-law-for-gay-sex-sultan-says, www.ecoi.net/en/file/local/1411812/mv177_peters-ngr0901.pdf, https://sexualrightsdatabase.org/countries/399/Afghanistan, www.hrw.org/world-report/2019/country-chapters/saudi-arabia#717cd1, https://sexualrightsdatabase.org/countries/500/Rwanda
