Women and the Law in Rome (A Document Study)

Women and the Law in Rome This document written by Augustus, gives insight to where women stood under Roman law. Rome was clearly a patriarchal society in that men had advantages when it came to law. For example, divorce. If a man sends a notice of divorce to his wife, it must be based on three different criminal charges: adultery, sorcery, and pander. If a woman was falsely accused, the penalty for a man would …

…were protected under law at all was for reproduction <Tab/>From this document as a whole, women in Rome during this time period seemed to only serve as partners in a marriage whose job was to take care of her husband, and produce freeborn citizens. Women weren't looked upon as equal. The legal protections offered to women were unusual. These laws focused more on aiding women to remarry primarily for procreation.