Source: Independent
In Turkey, lawmakers are planning to introduce the controversial so-called “marry-your-rapist” bill to Turkish parliament. The possible law will allow men accused of having sex with girls who are under 18 to avoid punishment if they marry their victims is set to be introduced to parliament in Turkey. This bill has sparked fury among women’s rights campaigners in the country because ‘marry-your-rapist’ bill a possible legislation that would legitimize child marriage and statutory rape.
In 2016, a similar bill was introduced but defeated in Turkey after national and global outrage. The legislation then would have only pardoned men if they had sex without “force or threat”.
“United Nations agencies warned the bill would generate a landscape of impunity for child abuse and leave victims vulnerable to experiencing additional mistreatment and distress from their assailants. Marry-your-rapist bills have been seen across the world and are pushed in the name of protecting and safeguarding family ‘honour’” said on Independent.
In Turkey the legal age of consent is 18 however, in 2018 government report on child marriage estimates a total of 482,908 girls were married in the last decade. Violence against women and girls is prevalent in Turkey. According to the United Nations, currently 38 per cent of Turkish women having suffered physical or sexual violence from a partner. A campaign group called We Will Stop Femicide estimates some 409 women were murdered by a partner or a family member in the country in 2017. This is a stark rise from the total of 237 four years beforehand.