The South Carolina Commission on Women: The SCCW’s Fight to Better the South Carolina Rape Degree System and the Laws on Marital Rape

Macy Elizabeth Gault

This presentation explores the history of marital rape law in South Carolina through a study of the South Carolina Commission on Women (SCCW). The SCCW spent years fighting to change South Carolina’s sex-biased legal code. The influences of common law on the South Carolina legal system, and the lack of attention given to the SCCW’s request to the South Carolina legislature for changes to marital rape laws, are both to blame for the lack of advancements in this particular section of the current South Carolina legal code. This presentation offers insight into the legal status of women in South Carolina from the 1970s to today.

• Macy Gault graduated from Lander University in May 2022. She was a history major with a minor in pre-law. Her leadership included serving as Phi Alpha Theta History Honors Society president and serving as social chair for the Honors College Leadership Council. Her achievements include working as a research assistant for Dr. Kevin Witherspoon, working as a community impact intern at United Way, tutoring Western Civilization under Dr. Robert Figueira, and interning in the Office of Congressman Tom Rice during a semester in Washington, D.C. Macy has been accepted to UofSC Law for fall 2022!