Girl's "fornication" punishment of 100 lashes commuted in Maldives after international campaign

A 15-year-old girl who faced 100 lashes in the Maldives after she was raped by her step-father has had the sentence overturned following an international campaign.

The child, who cannot be named, was handed the draconian flogging sentence for “fornication” in February, triggering a petition by the global campaign network Avaaz and anger from opposition and women’s rights groups in the country. Two million people worldwide signed the petition calling for the sentence to be commuted.

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A survey by Avaaz found that 92 per cent of Maldivians want a reform of national laws to protect women from sexual assault, while 73 per cent are opposed to punishments for women for “sexual crimes”. One in three women between the ages of 15 and 49 has suffered either physical or sexual abuse over the past five years. Nine out of 10 sentences for flogging in the Maldives in 2011 were given to women, while no one has been convicted of rape in the past three years.