Comparative Legal Characteristics of the Legislative Regulation of the Custom of Bride Abduction in Russia and Foreign Countries

The article provides a comparative legal analysis of the options of legislative regulation of the custom of “bride kidnapping” in the Russian Federation and overseas. It is pointed out that, despite signifi cant progress in the achievement of gender equality, in some regions of the world there are still practices grossly violating the existing national and international norms aimed at protecting the woman’s honor, dignity and freedom. The author provides some statistical data demonstrating the scale of the problem and its aggravation over time. The article examines and compares the corpus delicti of the crime of abduction of a woman for the purpose of forced marriage, as well as the measures of responsibility established for committing such an act. The research presents the evaluation of the methods of counteraction to the custom of “bride kidnapping” chosen by different states, specifying their advantages and disadvantages.
Building on the results of the analysis the conclusion has been made that the effi ciency of applying the measures of legal regulation of the practice of bride stealing mainly depends on cultural features of the region, the effectiveness of law-enforcement bodies, and the level of development of public legal consciousness. The author suggests making amendments to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation to introduce a separate article establishing criminal liability for kidnapping a person for the purpose of forced marriage, while leaving the sanctions within the limits of Art. 126 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation or increasing them as for committing an act motivated by cultural specifi city. It is suggested that the norm should be supplemented by the qualifying signs most often accompanying “kidnapping”.

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