Smeagol
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Please tell me what is normally required to get a person convicted of rape when the victim is not their spouse.
I have no idea. I'm not a criminal defense attorney, prosecutor nor have I served on a rape case jury. If serving on a jury I would need to be convinced of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt, and I THINK it would be somewhat more difficult to prove with the standing consent agreement known as marriage that a case where there defendant was a stranger, casual acquaintance, etc. of the victim.
It is just as likely that a non-spouse will make a false accusation of rape as it is a spouse. And there is already the problem of a jury who is going to be more biased against a spouse who claims rape (particularly when it comes to a single accusation and if their is no evidence of physical abuse) then a non-spouse. No one should be convicted of rape, spouse or non-spouse based on a single claim, basically anything that would come down to a he said/she said situation alone. But that doesn't mean that there should be any stipulations in the laws to treat a married person differently than a non-married person when it comes to rape because each situation should be based on the evidence for that situation and whether it shows that the accused raped the person or not.
Reasonable.
Their marital status should not affect that determination anymore than their relationship status should.
I think people who are married may bake assumptions those who are not married don't get to do. They could include making advances toward each other while the other might be asleep, initiating intimate relations while the other or both are intoxicated, surprising them while showering, etc., etc., etc. Marriage is IMHO a very important consideration considering the casual sexuality, on the first date, one night stand culture some segments of society have embraced often birthed in environments where intoxication is occurring. That's not to say rape is ever okay in any circumstance, only that I imagine it might be more difficult to prove if a standing understanding of exclusive consent exists, all other things being equal.