"Marry Your Rapist" Bill being considered in Turkey

At the end of the month of January 2020, Turkish Lawmakers introduced a "Marry Your Rapist" bill in which a rapist can escape being punished for raping a girl under the age of 18 if the two get married.  If this law is passed it would legitimize child marriage, statutory rape, and would also pave the way for child abuse & sexual exploitation.  Though the "age of consent" in the nation of Turkey is 18, it is estimated that as it stands over 480,000 child marriages have taken place in the country over the past 10 years.  Studies show that in the nation of Turkey 15-32% of women are married under the age of 18, and nearly 38% of women report that they have been victims of sexual harassment or abuse.  The passage of this bill would only allow this disturbing trend to increase.  

Unfortunately, this kind of law already exists in other nations.  In the country of Morocco, Article 475 of the Moroccan Penal code states that a Rapist my be exonerated of his crime if he marries his victim.  The law is based on the Near East "Honor/Shame" culture which is designed to protect the honor of the family, which is considered stained when a woman loses her virginity prior to getting married.  Marrying one's rapist "restores" that honor and exonerates the rapist for his crime.  Sadly, many women in who are trapped in a society with such laws, find no escape from them.  One 16-year-old Moroccan girl by the name of Amina Filali was ordered by a Moroccan Judge to marry her rapist.  In the end, her only way out was death and she swallowed rat poison to escape her court-mandated fate.  

 Sources:

Ahlert, Arnold.  "Forcing Women to Marry Their Rapists."  Think-Israel.  March 2012.  Accessed from http://www.think-israel.org/ahlert.marrytheirrapists.html

Dannies, Kate.  "Turkey's 'Marry Your Rapist' Bill is Part of a Disturbing Global Pattern."  Washington Post.  Jan. 29, 2020.  Accessed from  https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/01/29/turkeys-marry-your-rapist-bill-is-part-disturbing-global-pattern/

Oppenheim, Maya.  "'Marry Your Rapist' Bill Proposed to be Introduced by Lawmakers in Turkey."  Independent.  Jan. 22, 2020.  Accessed from  https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/turkey-marry-rapist-bill-child-marriage-a9296681.html?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter&fbclid=IwAR2ov FmWmVxjPhU3Y3nVfeBWImvFcMSuan3LTshfEyOcnuPK7wUN2xeEn5Q#Echobox=1579712598

"Turkey to Debate New 'Marry Your Rapist' Law in Parliament."  Middle East Monitor.  Jan. 23, 2020.  Accessed from https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200123-turkey-to-debate-new-marry-your-rapist-law-in-parliament/.



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