Turkey’s ruling AK Party has been widely condemned for a proposal that would, critics say, legalise rape in some cases.<br /><br /> The suggested law would see people who have been convicted on charges of sexual abuse against girls have their sentences indefinitely postponed if they agree to marry the victim. <br /><br /> This would only apply in cases occurring before November 16, in instances where no “force, threat or trick” was committed.<br /><br /> The AKP says the law aims to pardon men who did not realise they were engaging in sex with a minor. Civil marriage under the age of 18 is illegal in Turkey, but marriage between men and underage girls through a religious ceremony is common in some parts of the country.<br /><br /> Prime Minister Binali Yildirim defended the draft, saying:<br />“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. We located 3,000 families like this. This is a law to eliminate this victimisation for just one time.”<br /><br /> The proposal will be reconsidered next week after failing to garner enough support from legislators.<br /><br /> Critics claim it legitimises both sexual abuse and child marriage and say it raises the question of how young is too young?<br />
