Turkey’s governing party has sparked an outcry after putting forward a bill that would pardon up to 3,000 child rapists if the perpetrator married his victim.

Critics have warned that such a law would encourage sexual abuse, while the government has defended the bill as an attempt to deal with legal complications arising from child marriage.

The controversial proposal would apply to statutory rape cases without use of “force, threat, or any other restriction on consent” involving girls aged 15 or younger.

Men convicted in such cases between 2005, when a similar law was abolished, and Nov 16 this year would be eligible to have their sentences “deferred” if they married their victims.

In case of a divorce that is the “fault of the perpetrator”, the sentence would once again come into effect.

The bill — which was brought forward by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s conservative AKP — was approved on Thursday night, but did not reach the number of votes required for it to be passed into law. Parliament will vote on the proposal again on Tuesday.

Opposition MPs condemned the bill, warning that such a law would lead to girls being forced into marriage against their will and encourage abusers. On Twitter, users protested the bill with the hashtag #TecavuzMesrulastirilamaz — “rape cannot be legitimised”.