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I think we can all agree adults who rape children are scum, but this is still a bad law.
Because, of course, while we all think that Child Rapists Are Scum in the abstract, for a lot of people this falls apart when looking at specific cases. If the rapist in question is somebody's friend, brother, father, neighbor, a lot of people go like this:
A. Child rapists are scum.
B. Bill is a child rapist.
C. ABORT! BILL IS NOT SCUM! THEREFORE THERE WAS NO RAPE! (Or, if the rape is undeniable, then it doesn't count for some reason.)
This is true even when the survivor - or survivors! - are their own children or siblings.
As the article points out, rape is underreported in the region due to stigma. Typical, really. Adding this severe punishment isn't going to help. Instead, survivors are going to be assailed on all sides by people demanding to know why they want to ruin that nice man's life, especially if that "nice man" is a relation of some sort. Judges and juries are going to suddenly hold these cases to a super high standard of scrutiny.
What they need to do, rather than adding a new super harsh punishment, is focus on increasing reports and enforcing the law they already have.
Because, of course, while we all think that Child Rapists Are Scum in the abstract, for a lot of people this falls apart when looking at specific cases. If the rapist in question is somebody's friend, brother, father, neighbor, a lot of people go like this:
A. Child rapists are scum.
B. Bill is a child rapist.
C. ABORT! BILL IS NOT SCUM! THEREFORE THERE WAS NO RAPE! (Or, if the rape is undeniable, then it doesn't count for some reason.)
This is true even when the survivor - or survivors! - are their own children or siblings.
As the article points out, rape is underreported in the region due to stigma. Typical, really. Adding this severe punishment isn't going to help. Instead, survivors are going to be assailed on all sides by people demanding to know why they want to ruin that nice man's life, especially if that "nice man" is a relation of some sort. Judges and juries are going to suddenly hold these cases to a super high standard of scrutiny.
What they need to do, rather than adding a new super harsh punishment, is focus on increasing reports and enforcing the law they already have.
