"A law in Morocco that allows rapists to escape prosecution if they marry the victim"

In March 2012, Moroccan 16-year-old Amina Filali swallowed rat poison and killed herself, after being forced to marry the man she said had raped her. In Morocco, in Article 475 of the Penal Code, it allows rapist to escape prosecution if they marry their victim.  Because of Amina’s tragic incident much attention has been drawn to this law. There has been a public outcry by the Moroccan society asking for a change to this outrageous article. The Human rights organizations including Amnesty International has applauded the move but warned that many other articles of the Penal Code needed to be modified if women and girls were to be protected from violence and discrimination.  Under the Moroccan penal Code rape is defined as the act by which “a man has sexual relations with a woman against her will”, and is punishable by five to 10 years’ imprisonment. The article then becomes complicated because; it then goes into details as to the different factors that can determine the amount of years an offender should be imprisoned for.  Some factors that are taken into consideration are; whether the girl is under the age of 18, someone with a disability or a pregnant woman and also the victim marital status or whether or not she is a virgin.

            This is just a good example of how laws may differ in different countries. I do think that they really need to work on this specific law because it makes a lot of women and girls in these countries feel unsafe. Activists believe the definition of rape must be changed so it is gender-neutral and that other coercive circumstances, which do not necessarily require physical violence, be taken into account.

http://www.amnestyusa.org/news/news-item/bias-in-penal-code-puts-women-and-girls-in-danger-in-morocco

4:31pm, 3/1/2013, Sandrene Nelson