Marry-your-rapist law
Laws by country

Marry-your-rapist law

Section Title: Laws by country
Table Section Text: None

Country	Adopted	Repealed	Notes

Algeria	–	Article 326 of the Algerian penal law states that if an 'abducted or hijacked' minor marries her abductor, the abductor can only be prosecuted when the marriage is annulled by a person who has the right to annul it.

Angola	–

Argentina	<1997	2012	See also: AvenimientoArticle 132 of Argentine Penal Code stated that if a rape victim over the age of 16 agreed to marry her rapist, he could be freed from prison.

Bahrain	1976	Unknown	Article 353 exempts rapists (defined in Article 344) from punishment if they marry their victim. Parliament voted to abolish it on 31 May 2016, but the government is still opposed.

Bolivia	<1997	–	Article 317 states that there will be no punishment if defendants marry their victim before the sentence is passed. CEDAW called on Bolivia to repeal it.

Brazil	<1997	2005	Article 107 stated that a perpetrator's penalty was annulled when he married the person he made a victim, according to crimes listed elsewhere in the Code, including rape.

Bulgaria	2015	Until September 2015, under Bulgaria's penal code, a rapist could escape punishment, even in the case of statutory rape, if it was followed by marriage.

Cameroon	–	Section 297 of Cameroon's Penal Code prevents prosecution for rape when marriage has been "freely consented" to by both parties, and the assaulted woman was "over the age of puberty" during the offence.

Chile	<1997	1999	A new Sexual Crimes Code, which no longer contained a rape-marriage law, was enacted in July 1999.

Colombia	<1997	1997

Costa Rica	<1997	2007	Article 92 stated that punishment of an accused or condemned person would be cancelled if he married his underage victim, if legally possible and no objections exist from her legal representatives and the National Children's Fund.

Denmark	2013	Until 2013, according to section 227 of the Danish Penal Code, the penalty for rape committed pursuant to section 216 and for other sexual offences (sections 217–226) could be "reduced or remitted if the persons, between whom the sexual intercourse has taken place, have since married each other or registered their partnership."

Dominican Republic	<1997	Unknown

Ecuador	<1997	2014	In August 2014, a new criminal code came into force in Ecuador, and it no longer contains such provisions.

Egypt	1904	1999	Article 291 of Egypt's penal code allowed rapists or kidnappers to escape prosecution by marrying their victim.

El Salvador	1996/2017	The standard marry-your-rapist law was repealed in 1996; and Article 14, introduced in 1994, which provided a loophole in which a rapist would not be prosecuted if the victim is underaged, impregnated, and agrees to marry their rapist, was repealed in 2017.

Equatorial Guinea	–

Eritrea	–

Ethiopia	2005	In the Ethiopian Penal Code, Articles 558 and 599 had allowed a perpetrator to be free from their crimes in the case of marriage to the victim following the incidence.

France	1810	1994	Until 1994, France kept in the French Penal Code the article that exonerated a rapist in the event of a marriage to their victim.

Greece	2018	In 2018, Greece repealed article 339 (3), which allowed marriage as a permissible settlement for "seduction" of a child.

Guatemala	<1997	2006	Article 200 stated that a rapist could be exonerated if he promised to marry his victim, provided she had reached the age of 12.

Honduras	<1997	Unknown

Iraq	1969	–	Article 427 of Iraq's penal code states that if the perpetrator lawfully marries the victim, any legal action becomes void.

Italy	1981	In 1981, Italy repealed Article 544 of the Penal Code that allowed rapists to marry their victims to avoid punishment.

Jordan	1960	Expected	On 1 August 2017, Parliament voted to abolish Article 308 of Jordan's penal code. The Senate and the King are expected to approve.

Kuwait	1960	–	Article 182 states that if the rapist legally marries his victim with her guardian's permission, and the guardian requests that he is not punished, he won't be punished as he would be under Article 180.

Lebanon	1948	2017	In 2017, Lebanon abolished Article 522 and declared reexamination of Articles 505 and 518. Article 522 allowed for halting the prosecution or suspending the conviction of a person who had committed rape, kidnapping, or statutory rape if he married the victim.

Libya	1953	–	Under Article 424, the perpetrator, as well as any accomplice, can avoid imprisonment for rape as stipulated in Article 407 if he makes a contract of marriage with his victim.

Mexico	1931	1991 (national)	The national marry-your-rapist law was repealed in 1991. In 2017, the laws of three states (Campeche, Baja California and Sonora) provide that marriage to the victim exonerates the perpetrator of the crime of estupro (seduction of minors).

Morocco	2014	Article 475 of Morocco's penal code exempted rapists from punishment if they married their victim.

Mozambique	1886	2014	Article 400 of the Portuguese penal code of 1886, which still functioned in post-colonial Mozambique until its replacement on 11 July 2014, stated that rapists who married their victim would not be punished.

Nicaragua	<1997	2008	Article 196 stated that if the victim marries the offender or grants her pardon, the procedure is suspended and the sentence imposed is cancelled.

Palestine	1959	2018 (W.B.) – (Gaza)	Article 308 of the 1960 Jordanian Penal Code, which applies in the West Bank, was repealed on 14 March 2018. However, Articles 290 and 291 of the old the law Egyptian Penal Code are still applied in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.

Panama	<1997	2008	Article 225 stated that a rapist could marry his victim (aged 14 or older) in order to avoid potential charges.

Paraguay	<1997	Unknown

Peru	1924	1999	The 1924 law, Article 78, was modified in 1991 to absolve co-defendants in a gang rape case if one of them married the victim.

Philippines	–	The Anti-Rape Law of 1997 states "Article 266-C. Effect of Pardon.

Romania	2000

Russia	–	If the perpetrator is aged 18 or older and has committed statutory rape with a minor below 16, he is exempt from punishment if he marries the victim.

Serbia	–	"Cohabiting with a minor" and "enabl[ing] or induc[ing] a minor to cohabit with another person" is prohibited, but "[i]f a marriage is concluded", there will be no prosecution.

Syria	1949	–	Syria's penal code Article 508, in combination with Article 489, is a perfect copy of the Lebanese Articles 503 and 522.

Tajikistan	–

Thailand	–	An offence may be settled through marrying the victim if she is over 15 years old and 'consented' during the offence, and the court grants permission to the perpetrator, who must be at least 18.

Tonga	1926	–	The Parent Consent Act 1926 allows rapists to marry their victim (between the age of 14 and 18) if the victim's parents give consent.

Turkey	2005	Turkey's rape-marriage law was repealed in 2005, as part of efforts to join the European Union. In November 2016, a government plan to reinstate the law and exonerate around 3,000 rapists by having them marry their victims was cancelled due to mass protests.

Tunisia	1913	Expected 2018	Article 227 states the offender's prosecution or sentence is suspended if he marries his victim. The proposal to repeal the law, approved by Parliament on 26 July 2017, is expected to come into force in 2018.

Uruguay	<1997	2006	Article 116.

Venezuela	<1997	Unknown	Article 395, amended in 1999, states that "persons guilty of seduction, rape or abduction shall, unless marriage takes place, be sentenced to pay civil compensation to the victim."

Sentence(s)

In 1959, Gaza Strip applied the Egyptian penal law Articles 290 and 291, although these had been repealed in Egypt itself.

final_sentence: In 1959, Gaza Strip applied the Egyptian penal law Articles 290 and 291, although these had been repealed in Egypt itself.