This report reviews the legal status of female homemakers in the Virgin Islands and makes suggestions for action and legislation which will be more equitable in protecting homemakers' rights. The laws described in the report apply to wives who work at home as well as outside the home, but the report mainly concerns homemakers without outside employment because they are the most vulnerable to economic inequalities. The bulk of the report explains specific laws and situations which frequently arise in the following areas: (1) marriage--tort and contract rights and liabilities of the wife, the wife's right to consortium, and rape; (2) widowhood--U.S. Virgin Islands inheritance and gift tax, and planning opportunities; (3) divorce--custody of children, award of alimony, support of relations, procedure for collecting support, tax aspects concerning divorce and separation, and property settlement; (4) guardianship; (5) home ownership; (6) public housing; (7) physical abuse--procedure followed upon report of physical abuse, and proposed avenues to aid the abused female. A concluding section outlines recommendations for legislative changes involving estate laws, social security coverage, inheritance rights, and state help in collecting child support payments for families not on welfare. (AV)