A legal first in Turkey in marital rape
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
The Supreme Court of Appeals has accepted for the first time a verdict by a local court sentencing a person with the initials H.A. to prison for raping his wife more than once, a newspaper reported Friday.
Although the amendment to the Turkish civil code making sexual harassment in marriage a crime was introduced in 2005, it has been implemented only in a limited way due to the difficulty of changing perceptions in society, said experts, according to the daily Milliyet. The number of complaints filed after the amendment did not increase according to lawyers familiar with the issue.
"If a woman is forced to have sexual intercourse by anyone, including her husband, the offender will no longer be innocent by law. But for the husband to be judged, the wife needs to file a complaint," said Hülya Gülbahar, a lawyer. Without a complaint from the wife there is no possibility of having a civil law suit, which experts regard as a vital deficiency of the Turkish criminal code.
Gülbahar said sexual harassment crimes committed in a marital relationship should be regarded as a civil law suit, since it is very difficult for a woman to complain about her husband to the court. "In most cases, women who are victims of sexual harassment by their husbands are forced to withdraw their complaints by their family or people around them. The same thing happened when Halil Ürün, a Justice and Development Party (AKP) deputy, was accused of beating his wife. His wife first filed a complaint, but the social pressure was so strong that she had to withdraw her complaint," said Gülbahar, who is also the head of the Association for Supporting Women Candidates (KA-DER).
Article 102 of the Turkish criminal code states that rape (by inserting an organ or an object) is punishable by a sentence of seven to 12 years. But if the victim suffers permanent physical or psychological damage, then the punishment cannot be less than 10 years.
"The requirement of a complaint from the victim, in the case of a marital relationship, is discrimination between married and single women. This requirement should change, since it protects a married man who is offensive toward his wife," said Habibe Yılmaz Kayar, another lawyer. People should be educated about sexual harassment to realize that it is a crime even when it is committed by their husbands, said Kayar, member of the Center for Legal Support to Women (KAHDEM). Women should realize that sexuality is a choice, and that it is not the duty of married women to have sexual intercourse with their husbands, said Kayar. Sexual intercourse should be based on the consent of both wife and husband, she added.
A local court in Antalya sentenced H.A. to 10 years and seven months for raping his wife more than once. The Supreme Court of Appeals accepted that a crime had occurred, but questioned the amount of the sentence. "It seems that the local court decided on the duration of the sentence based on the argument that the crime was committed several times.
"The Supreme Court of Appeals, however, probably questions the continuity of the crime," said Sema Kendirci, head of the Association for the Union of Turkish Women (TKB). Kendirci, a lawyer, said that when rape occurs more than once, it is continuous, increasing the amount of punishment. However, when the husband is the criminal it is unlikely that the case will be regarded as continuous.
© 2005 Dogan Daily News Inc. www.turkishdailynews.com.tr
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