Beirut — Jordanian legislators have voted to abolish a law that lets rapists off the hook if they marry their victims, rights campaigners said on Tuesday. They hailed the move — which comes a week after Tunisia scrapped a similar law — as an important step towards ending impunity for sexual violence. Campaigners have said such laws, which exist in a number of Middle Eastern countries, condemn girls to a lifetime of sexual violence and domestic abuse at the hands of their rapist. "It is a historical achievement in Jordan today," said Suad Abu-Dayyeh, Middle East consultant for Equality Now, a global legal advocacy organisation. Countries with similar provisions include Lebanon, Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Syria and the Palestinian Territories, according to Equality Now. "I think it is a really a positive step forward towards ending impunity for sexual assault and ending violence against women, but also (for) improving the rule of law," Adam Coogle, Middle East researcher at Human Rights W...
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