Turkey: Proposal to free those convicted of sexual assault if they marry their victims must be rejected

In response to proposals submitted to the Turkish parliament that would potentially allow thousands of people convicted of sexual assault to be let out of jail if they marry the victim of their crime, Gauri van Gulik, Amnesty International’s Deputy Europe Director said:

“Suspending the sentence for any criminal offense, but in particular sexual assault, by offering the perpetrator to marry the victim can be dangerous, sends the wrong message and could lead to further abuse.”

“While the government claims these cases do not include any involving coercion, it is impossible in the case of a blanket suspensions to guarantee that there was in fact full and informed consent of the girl, not just of her family.”

According to news reports, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said the aim of the proposal was to remedy the situation of men who are in jail and are married to women under the age of 18 in a religious ceremony and with the consent of their family. He said “it will end the victimhood of around 3,000 families”.

The proposal, which would apply to cases of sexual abuse that occurred before 16 November 2016, has attracted widespread condemnation and an online petition gathered over 500,000 signatures in less than 24 hours.