Law Draft on Sexual Abuse Discussed by 2 Subsidiary Committees

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The law draft on sexual abuse was discussed by the Committee on Equal Opportunity for Men and Women (KEFEK) yesterday (April 16).

Group Deputy Chairperson of Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Filiz Kerestecioğlu, Ankara MP of the main opposition party Republican People's Party (CHP) Şenal Sarıhan and Aydın MP of Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) criticized the law draft on the grounds that it is a punishment-oriented law draft which does not bring any preventive measures, it does not offer a regulation for the cases where the suspect is also a child and it recommends chemical castration.

Kerestecioğlu: "Preventive and protective measures need to be taken"

While Kerestecioğlu criticized the law draft by saying, "I do not see anything, but punishment in this draft, it is populism. Preventive and protective measures need to be taken," CHP MP Sarıhan criticized the recommendations for chemical castration by stating, "If you cannot remove from their minds the aggression, the idea that children and women are a commodity and the thought that 'I can use it with my strength and power in any case', no regulation will produce a lasting solution."

As a response to the criticisms expressed by the MPs of HDP, CHP and MHP, Kahramanmaraş MP of Justice and Development Party (AKP) Nursel Reyhanlıoğlu said, "The ones from CHP and HDP are speaking by protecting the perpetrator." Regarding criticisms about the chemical castration, Reyhanlıoğlu stated, "If you ask me, I would also say capital punishment."

The Committee on Equal Opportunity for Men and Women (KEFEK) has adopted the Law Draft Related to Making Amendments on Turkish Penal Code and Some Laws, which contains legal regulations as to the sexual abuse crimes which it discussed as a subsidiary committee.

The Committee on Health, Family, Labor and Social Affairs has also adopted the law draft

The Committee on Health, Family, Labor and Social Affairs also discussed the law draft as a subsidiary committee today (April 17).

During the meeting of the committee chaired by AKP Adana MP Necdet Ünüvar, the law draft was criticized by the CHP Mersin MP Aytuğ Atıcı and MHP Deputy Chair and Adana MP Deniz Depboylu on the ground that it does not offer legal regulations for cases where the suspect is also a child.

Addressing the recommendations for chemical castration and emphasizing that it cannot be an effective solution, CHP MP Atıcı said, "If there is a problem with the brain [of the suspect], child abuse will still continue. What is important is to eliminate the problem in the brain."

After the discussions, the Committee on Health, Family, Labor and Social Affairs also adopted the Law Draft Related to Making Amendments on Turkish Penal Code and Some Laws, which it discussed as a subsidiary committee. The law draft will be discussed by the Committee on Justice as the main committee on April 19. (BK/SD)