A committee of the Lebanese parliament has agreed to work to abolish a law that allows a man to avoid prosecution for raping an unmarried woman if he later marries the woman. Political leaders including the Lebanese Prime Minister have publicly supported the decision after local activists organized a protest near parliament to call for the law’s repeal.
The Beirut-based women’s rights group, ABAAD, which has long opposed the law (Article 522), welcomed the committee’s decision as a positive first step but noted that the issue must continue to be addressed within communities to eliminate the practice and ensure rapists are punished. According to ABAAD as reported by CNN, repealing Article 522 is “about the criminalization of rape. The law should not be on the side of the rapist, it should be on the side of the survivor.”
Compiled from: Williams, Joel, Lebanon takes first step to abolish marriage rape law,CNN News (December 12, 2016).