'Marry-your-rapist' bill to be introduced by lawmakers in Turkey

A law which would 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.

The controversial so-called “marry-your-rapist” bill, which lawmakers are planning to introduce to Turkish parliament at the end of January, has sparked fury among women’s rights campaigners in the country.

Critics argue the legislation, which the opposition Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) is urging the government to axe, not only legitimises child marriage and statutory rape but also paves the way for child abuse and sexual exploitation.

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A similar bill was defeated in Turkey in 2016 after national and global outrage. The legislation 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.

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Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran's elite Quds Force, at the direction of President Donald Trump AP 21/50 2 January 2020 Boats are pulled ashore as smoke and wildfires rage behind Lake Conjola, Australia. Thousands of tourists fled Australia's wildfire-ravaged eastern coast ahead of worsening conditions as the military started to evacuate people trapped on the shore further south Robert Oerlemans via AP 22/50 1 January 2020 Photographer Matt Roberts reacts to seeing his sister's house destroyed by a bushfire in Quaama, New South Wales, Australia EPA 23/50 31 December 2019 A man rides a donkey cart against the last setting sun of 2019 in Lahore, Pakistan Reuters 24/50 30 December 2019 A Skycrane drops water on a bushfire in Bundoora, Melbourne, Australia. 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AFP via Getty 27/50 27 December 2019 The Panamanian-flag cargo ship "Zelek Star" is pictured after being washed up on a beach in the southern Israeli coastal city of Ashdod during a storm AFP via Getty 28/50 26 December 2019 Monks wearing solar filter glasses watch the "ring of fire" solar eclipse at the Gaden monastery in a Tibetan colony in Teginkoppa, India AFP via Getty 29/50 25 December 2019 A participant in a Darth Vader costume jumps into the water during the 110th edition of the 'Copa Nadal' (Christmas Cup) swimming competition in Barcelona's Port Vell. The traditional 200-meter Christmas swimming race included more than 300 participants on Barcelona's old harbour AFP/Getty 30/50 24 December 2019 Children dressed as Santa Claus during celebrations on Christmas Eve at a school in Amritsar AFP via Getty 31/50 23 December 2019 Palestinians wearing Christmas costumes distribute gifts to children seated atop the rubble of a house demolished by Israel, reportedly for not being built with official licensing in the village of al-Khader, west of of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty 32/50 22 December 2019 A journalist gets pepper-sprayed after a heated exchange with police during a rally in Hong Kong to show support for the Uighur minority in China. Hong Kong riot police broke up a solidarity rally for China's Uighurs -- with one officer drawing a pistol -- as the city's pro-democracy movement likened their plight to that of the oppressed Muslim minority AFP via Getty 33/50 21 December 2019 Children react as a Bengal tiger licks the glass surrounding its enclosure during the "Animal Christmas Party", where the youths were treated to a tour of the Malabon Zoo, in Manila AFP via Getty 34/50 20 December 2019 In this long exposure photo, the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carrying the Boeing Starliner crew capsule lifts off on an orbital flight test to the International Space Station from Cape Canaveral AP 35/50 19 December 2019 A freediver wearing a Father Christmas outfit poses underwater off the coast of the northern city of Batroun AFP via Getty 36/50 18 December 2019 People rally in support of the impeachment of US President Donald Trump in front of the US Capitol, as the House readies for the historic vote AFP via Getty 37/50 17 December 2019 Protesters set fire to dumpsters and tires as they block a road in the southern Lebanese city of Sidon AFP via Getty 38/50 16 December 2019 People ride a merry-go-round at the Christmas Market at the Red Square in Moscow AFP via Getty 39/50 15 December 2019 The Red Rebels, part of the Extinction Rebellion Australia demonstrator group, participate in a climate protest rally in Sydney. The group rallied in front of the landmark Sydney Opera House demanding urgent climate action from Australia's government, as bushfire smoke choking the city caused health problems to spike AFP via Getty 40/50 14 December 2019 Protesters block a road after setting buses on fire during a demonstration against the Indian government's Citizenship Amendment Bill in Howrah, on the outskirts of Kolkata, India. Protests against a divisive new citizenship law raged on as Washington and London issued travel warnings for northeast India following days of violent clashes that have killed two people so far AFP via Getty 41/50 13 December 2019 A huge cloud of black smoke raises over a burning warehouse in the southern outskirts of Moscow. There were no immediate reports of any casualties, but one fire fighter was injured and 25 ambulance cars and a special air testing vehicle are at the site, they added EPA 42/50 12 December 2019 A slow shutter speed shot shows oarsmen in traditional costume rowing during the Royal Barge Procession to mark the conclusion of the Royal Coronation ceremony, on the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok, Thailand. The ceremony honours King Rama X after his complete accession to the throne EPA 43/50 11 December 2019 A boy inspects his damaged home after after an attack near the Bagram Air Base in Kabul, Afghanistan, A powerful suicide bombing targeted an under-construction medical facility near the main American base north of the capital AP 44/50 10 December 2019 Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg arrives to participate in the event "Unite behind the science" within the UN Climate Change Conference COP25 in Madrid AFP via Getty 45/50 9 December 2019 White Island (Whakaari) volcano, as it erupts, in the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand. According to police, at least five people have died in the volcanic erruption EPA/Michael Schade 46/50 8 December 2019 People gather amidst the ruins of a building, destroyed during reported Syrian regime and Russian air strikes the previous day in the town of Balyun. The reported air raids killed 19 civilians, eight of them children, in the country's last major opposition bastion AFP via Getty 47/50 7December 2019 A French CGT unionist holds up the union's flag as he demonstrates against unemployment amidst smoke bombs in Nantes. The most serious nationwide strike to hit France in years caused new misery for weekend travellers, with defiant unions dismissing proposals by the government and warning walkouts would last well into next week AFP via Getty 48/50 6 December 2019 People stand on top of a collapsed six-storey building in Nairobi, Kenya. Local media reported that several people are feared trapped as the rescue operation continues EPA 49/50 5 December 2019 Indonesia players celebrate a point during their match against Vietnam in the women's volleyball preliminary round of the Southeast Asian Games being held in the Philippines Reuters 50/50 4 December 2019 Firefighters work to contain a large fire at an industrial building at Inlet Road inn Auckland, New Zealand Getty

“Marry-your-rapist” bills have been seen across the world and are pushed in the name of protecting and safeguarding family “honour”.

Suad Abu-Dayyeh, a campaigner who specialises in the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan, and Pakistan for Equality Now, a non government organisation which aims to promote the rights of women and girls, said it was "shocking" politicians are trying to pass a bill that "provides impunity for perpetrators of child sexual exploitation".

She told The Independent: "I applaud the brave work of women’s rights campaigners in Turkey who are taking a stand against this discriminatory bill and pushing back again regressive forces that are seeking to remove current legal protections for girls. Similar 'marry-your-rapist' legal provisions have been on the statute books of countries across the Middle East and North Africa.

"Thanks to years of campaigning by women’s rights activists and lawmakers, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia, and Palestine have all removed these loopholes in recent years. Rather than attempting to introduce legislation that harms women's rights and protections, Turkish lawmakers should take heed of these advances in repealing gender discriminatory laws.”

While the legal age of consent is 18 in Turkey, a 2018 government report on child marriage estimates a total of 482,908 girls were married in the last decade.

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Violence against women and girls is prevalent in Turkey – with 38 per cent of Turkish women having suffered physical or sexual violence from a partner according to the United Nations.

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 – a stark rise from the total of 237 four years beforehand.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said equality between men and women is “against nature” at a summit in Istanbul back in 2014.

The world leader said: “You cannot put women and men on an equal footing. It is against nature.”

He urged women to have at least three children and argued a woman’s life was “incomplete” if she did not reproduce back in 2016.

“A woman who says ‘because I am working I will not be a mother’ is actually denying her feminity,” he said. “A women who rejects motherhood, who refrains from being around the house, however successful her working life is, is deficient, is incomplete”.