New Law In Turkey Lets Child Rapists Avoid Punishment If They Marry Their Victims

Officials in Turkey are set to convene for the proposed new law related to rape. However, before it could be fully discussed in the forum, people have already staged protests against the “Marry Your Rapist” bill.

The Turkish parliament has not yet passed the bill but people are protesting and slamming the officials because, in the first place, they should have not even considered the horrible proposal. Yet, the bill has made its way to the parliament and the leaders are going to debate whether to pass it or not.

It is not just in Turkey but the proposed law has drawn international criticism and causing groups to organize more protests to protect the women and children. This is because, under the “marry your rapist” law, rape could be legitimized and this will open the gate for more child and sexual abuse. Marriage of minors will also become a normal thing once this bill is passed as it states that rapists will not be punished if they will marry their victim even if they are underage girls.

This means that all men who are accused of sexually molesting or abusing girls under the age of 18 can escape from punishment once they marry their victims. In other words, this will make statutory rape and child marriages legal which will surely make pedophiles enjoy their criminal activities.

A similar bill was already brought up in 2016. With the backlash, the government defended the bill by saying that it was designed to deal with issues regarding child marriage and its legal complications. However, it was eventually dropped by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) following widespread outrage.

This year, the proposed law is back and it was first discussed in the parliament on Jan. 16. At the initial talks, the bill will suspend sentences for child sex offenders if the rapist and the victim marry but then, their age difference should be less than ten years.

Turkey will begin its second attempt at passing this bill that will grant amnesty to rapists as long as they will agree to tie the knot with the aggravated party. The talks has been set at the end of January.

According to The Independent, the United Nations has issued a warning after speaking out against the proposed law. The organization pointed out that it will only boost the rapists’ confidence as their fears for any consequences and punishment for their crimes will vanish.

"I applaud the brave work of women’s rights campaigners in Turkey,” Suad Abu-Dayyeh, a campaigner for the rights of girls and women told the publication. “They are taking a stand against this discriminatory bill and pushing back again regressive forces that are seeking to remove current legal protections for girls.”