Istanbul - Lawmakers from Turkey’s ruling party have proposed a controversial bill that would allow some sex abusers to marry their victims and evade punishment, under certain conditions, drawing sharp protests from opposition parties and women’s rights organisations.

The motion, put forward by members of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s conservative-Islamic Justice and Development Party (AKP), passed a preliminary stage, but will need to a proper vote on Tuesday in parliament to become law.

Opponents of the bill from Turkey’s secular parties say it could act to whitewash forced marriages, including of girls under the legal age, by bringing back a law which was voided by parliament more than 10 years ago, during an era that saw liberalisation in Turkey.

“That law existed before 2005, which included a sentence saying that if there is a marriage between the person who raped or sexually assaulted and the person who was raped then there would be no punishment for the assaulter or rapist,” explained Begum Basdas at Amnesty International’s Turkey office.