News compilation on New Cold War.org, Nov 21, 2016
Thousands of Turks protest child sex abuse bill in Istanbul
Thousands of Turkish people have taken to the streets of Istanbul and other cities in Turkey to vent their anger at a highly contentious draft law that would quash men’s convictions for child sex assaults if they marry the victims.
Around 3,000 protesters marched on Istanbul’s Kadikoy Square Saturday, shouting slogans in condemnation of the bill recently brought to the parliament by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). Holding banners that read, “Rape cannot be legitimized” and “AKP, take your hands off my body,” the demonstrators shouted, “We will not shut up. We will not obey. Withdraw the bill immediately!”
Turkish lawmakers approved the bill in its initial reading on November 17 and will vote on the proposal in a second debate on Tuesday. If passed, the law would pardon men guilty of assaulting a minor if the act was committed without “force, threat, or any other restriction on consent” and if the perpetrator married the victim.
“We will not allow the AKP to acquit and set free rapists in this country,” said one of the protesters, adding, “Women will resist and take to the streets until this law and similar other laws are withdrawn.”
The government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan argues that the measure was aimed at resolving legal complications related to child marriage, but critics believe that the initiative will legitimize child rape.
“Sexual abuse is a crime and there is no consent in it. This is what the AKP fails to understand,” said Ozgur Ozel, of the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP).
Omer Suha Aldan, another CHP lawmaker, complained that the legislation would “encourage forced marriages and legalize marriage to rapists.”
Gauri van Gulik, Amnesty International’s deputy Europe director, also criticized the measure, saying it risks sending “the wrong message and could lead to further abuse.”
However, Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag defended the law on Friday, arguing that it was a response to the “unfortunate reality” of teenage marriage in the country and would lead to the release of approximately 3,000 people accused of assaulting minors.
Turkish ruling party sparks uproar with sexual abuse bill
By Gulsen Solaker, Reuters, Friday, Nov 18, 2016
ANKARA – Turkey’s ruling AK Party came under fire from the opposition, rights groups and on social media on Friday over a proposal that critics said could allow men accused of sexually abusing girls to avoid punishment if they marry their victims.
The proposal, a copy of which was seen by Reuters, would allow sentencing in cases of sexual abuse committed “without force, threat or trick” before Nov. 16, 2016 to be indefinitely postponed if the perpetrator marries the victim.
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 rejected suggestions that the plan amounted to an “amnesty for rape”.
Civil marriage under the age of 18 is illegal in Turkey, but marriage between men and underage girls through religious ceremonies is not uncommon, particularly in rural parts of the Sunni Muslim nation of 78 million people.
“There are those who got married under age. They don’t know the law, then they have kids, the father goes to jail and the children are alone with their mother,” Yildirim told reporters after Friday prayers, saying that left families “broken”.
“If there would be marriages like this from now on, they will in no way be tolerated,” he said, adding an estimated 3,000 families would be affected by the proposal and that the legislation would only be applied retrospectively.
Children in their early teens are known to have been married in religious ceremonies in Turkey. Some argue that these marriages were not abusive, with the couple simply being unaware of the civil law.
Opponents of the proposal including lawmakers, dozens of rights groups, women’s associations and child NGOs swiftly condemned the legislation, saying it was a normalization of underage marriage.
“Sexual abuse is a crime and there is no consent in it. This is what the AK Party fails to understand,” Ozgur Ozel, a senior lawmaker with the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) told a press conference. “Seeking the consent of a child is something that universal law does not provide for.”
The controversy became a top-trending topic on Twitter in Turkey, under the hashtag “rape cannot be legitimized”.
Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said suggestions that sex offenders could avoid punishment by marrying their victims were a deliberate distortion of the facts. He said it was the AK Party itself which had tightened laws on underage marriage since coming to power in 2002. “Those who commit the crime of sexual abuse with force, threat, trick or any other reason that cripples the will cannot use this article,” Bozdag said on Twitter.
The controversy comes as Turkey’s hopes of joining the European Union are hanging by a thread. Some European leaders have called for accession talks to be frozen, citing a deterioration in freedoms in the country which they say are taking it ever further from European norms.
The proposal, part of a wider package of planned changes, was accepted in an initial vote in parliament – where the AKP has a strong majority – late on Thursday. But for it to become a law, the whole bill needs to be approved. Parliament will resume the debate on Tuesday.
Turkey child rape protests: Thousands take to streets against law that would let men off if they marry victim
Harriet Agerholm, The Independent, Nov 20, 2016
Thousands have taken to the streets of Istanbul and other cities in Turkey to protest against a bill that would allow child rapists to walk free if they marry their victims. The country’s government insists the law would help resolve legal challenges caused by widespread child marriage in the country, yet critics argue the bill legitimises rape.
About 3,000 people gathered in Istanbul’s Kadikoy square, many waving placards that said: “Rape cannot be legitimised,” and “AKP, take your hands off my body” – in reference to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) that proposed the bill. They clapped and chanted: “We will not shut up. We will not obey. Withdraw the bill immediately.”
Similar demonstrations were held in other cities, including Ankara, Izmir and Trabzon.
If the law passes, men who sexually abuse girls under 18 without “force, threat or any restriction on consent” and marry them could have their convictions quashed or avoid prosecution. The proposed change would apply to cases between 2005 and 16 November 2016.
Protester Cigdem Evcil told the BBC: “I am a mother. How am I supposed to react to this? I can`t believe it, it’s not normal, it doesn’t make sense. If I let this happen to my daughter, if the mothers in this country let this happen, it means we are not mothers.”
Another protester told Associated Press: “Pardoning the crime of sexual assault, or dropping it due to prescription, is out of the question. People who commit sexual assault and rape crimes cannot be cleared.”
One of the women protesters who gave her name as Ruya told AFP: “We will not allow the AKP to acquit and set free rapists in this country. Women will resist and take to the streets until this law and similar other laws are withdrawn.”
Another protester, a middle-aged man named Ugur, attended the protest with his 14-year-old daughter. “I am concerned about my daughter’s future,” he told AFP. “[The] AKP is passing any law they want in the parliament.”
“That’s the maximum we can do. To protest,” he added.
The AKP enjoys a comfortable majority in the 550-seat parliament, holding 317 seats.
The UN children’s fund said it was “deeply concerned” about the draft bill. “These abject forms of violence against children are crimes which should be punished as such, and in all cases the best interest of the child should prevail,” said spokesman Christophe Boulierac.
MPs approved the draft law in its initial reading on Thursday and it will be voted on again on Tuesday, but following the controversy, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildrim has ordered the AKP to suspend talks with the opposition about the law. Mr Yildirim said the bill was intended to release men jailed after marrying underage girls in religious ceremonies who had received the consent of a girl’s family. He rejected suggestions that the plan amounted to an “amnesty for rape”.
“This is a step taken to solve a problem in some parts of our country,” he told a Nato meeting in Istanbul.
Yet Turkish bar association Izmir Barosu said in a statement: “This proposal is clearly an attack on protecting children from sexual abuse. We must make clear that any regulation against the protection of sexual abuse of children has no place in the public conscience.
“The proposed regulation is intended to institutionalise child abuse. Physical and sexual violence against children and women is a crime.”
The proposals have been criticised by pro-government groups. The Women’s and Democracy Association – whose deputy chairman is President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s daughter Sumeyye Erdogan Bayraktar – said a major problem with the bill would be proving what constituted force or consent. It said: “How can the ‘own will’ of such a young girl be identified? We would like to draw attention to issues that might arise in case of it coming into force.”
A petition on change.org urging the authorities to stop the legislation has accrued more than 600,000 signatures.
Child abuse cases triple in last decade in Turkey
By Turkish Minute, Nov 20, 2016
As the world celebrates November 20 Children’s Rights Day, figures from the Ministry of Justice have revealed that child abuse cases have tripled in the last decade in Turkey.
While Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has brought a bill to Parliament that proposes rapists in Turkish jails be released if they are married to their victims, as in the case of child marriage, a way out of prison for more than 4,000 inmates convicted of rape, the figures on child abuse and child marriages raise concern.
According to the Turkish Statistics Institute (TurkStat), in the last decade a total of 482,000 girls were forced into marriage. In 2015 alone, 31,337 female minors and 1,483 male minors have gotten married.
The same figures also reveal that in 2015, 17,789 girls between the ages of 15 to 17 gave birth, while 244 under the age of 15 became mothers as child brides.
Following outrage that was sparked on social media and in civil society, Prime Minister and the Chairman of Turkey’s ruling AKP Binali Yıldırım called for consultation with the opposition on a bill, according to the government, that would release early marriage offenders, not rapists. However, critics state that consent of a minor would be out of the question and that such legislation would pave the way for more child brides and abuse.
Related news:
Demonstration held in İstanbul to protest arrest of Kurdish deputies, by Turkish Minute, Nov 20, 2016
