Draft bill to toughen sexual abuse penalties prepared in Turkey

The Turkish government has prepared new legal regulations that will increase the penalty for sex-related crimes, paving the way for the chemical castration of suspects convicted of child abuse, Hürriyet Daily News reports.

Parents who force their children into marriage will face between one and three years in prison, according to the new regulations, which will also increase the penalties for sexual abuse committed in the digital environment or mobile phones.

The new regulations have been prepared by the country's Justice Ministry, the Family and Social Policies Ministry and the European Union Ministry, under the direction of Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdağ, on the initiative of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the news agency reports.