Beyond Article 308 Situation one year after the abrogation of the controversial article from the Penal Code

This paper is the result of a research carried out by Terre des hommes, with the support of the French Embassy in Jordan. The research follows the abrogation in August 2017 of the Article 308 of the Jordanian Penal Code, a controversial article which allowed perpetrators of certain sexual violence crimes, including rape, to get away with punishment if they married the victim. This study aims to understand and monitor progress made by the judiciary practice after the abolition of the controversial article. In particular, this paper aims to better understand the scope of Article 308 and what cases it applied to; to assess the current situation a year after the article has been abolished; to provide recommendations for policy, programmes and future research in Jordan. This paper is the result of data gathered through qualitative semi-structured interviews with key informant interviews, held between August and December 2018. It finds that challenges faced by Sexual and Gender Based Violence survivors still persist, including social misconceptions and stigma surrounding victims of rape and sexual assault. Moreover, it shows the lack of national protection systems dedicated to supporting SGBV survivors.