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News > World

'OK for Rape Victims to Marry their Rapist': Malaysia Lawmaker

  • The legislator's argument sparked outrage on social media, with some opposition politicians asking for him to be fired.

    The legislator's argument sparked outrage on social media, with some opposition politicians asking for him to be fired.

Published 5 April 2017
Opinion

There have been several cases over the years of rapists marrying theirs victim, including those under 18, to avoid prosecution.

A Malaysian male legislator has sparked outrage after reportedly claiming there is "nothing wrong" with a rape victim marrying her rapist.

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Shabudin Yahaya, a member of the Barisan Nasional coalition, made the comments in response to a proposal by an opposition member of parliament to amend the Sexual Offences Against Children bill to include a ban on child marriages.

He said he rejected the motion to ban child marriages as it was contrary to provisions in sharia law. The MP also said girls as young as nine were "physically and spiritually" ready for marriage.

“Rape is still a criminal offense and it is up to police and (the) court to determine the action to be taken against the perpetrator,” he said. “But in reality, there are many rape cases in the country that has been classified as statutory rape.” He added, “In my debate, I had explained that marriage and criminal act are two different matters.”

Reuters reported last year that most complaints of child sexual abuse in Malaysia do not lead to successful prosecutions, largely due to weaknesses in the criminal justice system.

"The law is more stringent now ... but not enough," Teo Nie Ching, the opposition MP who proposed the ban child marriages, told Reuters. She said offenders would use the absence of a ban on child marriages to get away with crimes as marital rape is not a crime in Malaysia.

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There have been several cases over the years of rapists marrying their victims, including those under 18, to avoid prosecution.

In some countries in the Middle East and North Africa, marrying her rapist is viewed as an attempt to save the woman's honor, especially if she was a child — and therefore a virgin.

This is also misconstruction over the violation, known as "rape culture," across the world. In France for example, a recent survey found that almost a third (30 percent) of 18-24 year-old believed that a woman could enjoy sex as she was being raped. About two weeks ago, U.S. Republican lawmaker George Faught said that rape or incest could be the “will of God.”

“Well, you know, if you read the Bible, there’s actually a couple of circumstances where that happened. And the Lord uses all circumstances. I mean, you can get on that path, but you know it’s a reality, unfortunately,” Faught said.

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