Turkey has backtracked on plans to pardon statutory rapists who marry their underage victims after the proposal sparked anger both at home and abroad.
Prime Minister Binali Yildirim withdrew the legislation for redrafting a few hours before it was due to appear before parliament on Tuesday.
The bill, introduced by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), had planned to defer the sentences of men convicted of statutory rape involving girls aged 18 or younger - and without use of "force, threat, or any other restriction on consent" - if they went on to marry their victim.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Supporters claimed it enabled couples who married when one participant was underage to normalise their marriage without fear of legal ramifications. However, opposition MPs said it would "lead to girls being forced into marriage against their will and encourage abusers", the Daily Telegraph reports.
A joint statement from Unicef, the United Nations Population Fund, UNFPA, UN Women and the UN Development Programme in Turkey called on the Turkish parliament to reject the bill.
"Any forms of sexual violence against children are crimes which should be punished as such," it said.
There were also public protests in Turkey, with opposition voiced from all parts of the political spectrum, reports BBC Turkey correspondent Mark Lowen.
"When conservative, usually pro-government, women spoke out against it - including the president's wife - the bill was doomed to failure," he writes.
The age of consent for state-recognised civil marriage in Turkey is 18, but anti child-marriage charity Girls Not Brides says at least 15 per cent of brides are younger.
It adds that the true figure may be much higher as "most child marriages are unregistered and take place as unofficial religious marriages".
A 2014 study by researchers at Gaziantep University in Turkey found an average of one in three marriages involved at least one underage participant, Al-Monitor reports. The rate varied from 60 per cent in the south-eastern city of Urfa, which is home to a large Arab population, to 16 per cent in more cosmopolitan areas.
-
How China uses 'dark fleets' to circumvent trade sanctionsThe Explainer The fleets are used to smuggle goods like oil and fish
-
One year after mass protests, why are Kenyans taking to the streets again?today's big question More than 60 protesters died during demonstrations in 2024
-
What happens if tensions between India and Pakistan boil over?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As the two nuclear-armed neighbors rattle their sabers in the wake of a terrorist attack on the contested Kashmir region, experts worry that the worst might be yet to come
-
Why Russia removed the Taliban's terrorist designationThe Explainer Russia had designated the Taliban as a terrorist group over 20 years ago
-
Inside the Israel-Turkey geopolitical dance across SyriaTHE EXPLAINER As Syria struggles in the wake of the Assad regime's collapse, its neighbors are carefully coordinating to avoid potential military confrontations
-
'Like a sound from hell': Serbia and sonic weaponsThe Explainer Half a million people sign petition alleging Serbian police used an illegal 'sound cannon' to disrupt anti-government protests
-
The arrest of the Philippines' former president leaves the country's drug war in disarrayIn the Spotlight Rodrigo Duterte was arrested by the ICC earlier this month
-
Ukrainian election: who could replace Zelenskyy?The Explainer Donald Trump's 'dictator' jibe raises pressure on Ukraine to the polls while the country is under martial law
