Rapist can't escape by marrying the victim: change in law soon

Manama

 Scrapping a controversial article in the country’s penal code, which allegedly provides an escape for rapists, will soon see the light, as announced by the Parliament House yesterday.

During their weekly meeting yesterday, Parliament Legal and Legislative Affairs Committee members discussed a proposal submitted by a group of MPs to remove Article 353 of the penal code.

The article apparently provides an escape for perpetrators and allows them some sort of impunity. It states that the rapist would be spared the punishment, in case the victim agreed to marry him.

A judgment that is highly rejected by lawmakers, who considered it as a gap in the existing law, which also states that “even if the defendant was found guilty by the court, all charges shall be dropped, in case the victim accepted to marry him.”

The committee yesterday endorsed the constitutionality of the proposal to scrap the article, aiming at preserving women’s rights and prevent perpetrators from escaping justice.

The proposal will be soon presented before the council for voting, before it’s referred to the concerned sides for final approval.

As reported by DT News earlier, MP Mohammed Al Maarifi insisted on the removal of the article from the existing law, stating, “Article 353 doesn’t contribute in eliminating rape crimes, as it doesn’t do justice to rape victims, by providing the assailants a guarantee to escape from punishment through a marriage contract.

At the same time, the victims are not granted any kind of guarantees, particularly in regards to the continuation of the marriage.”