Terminating parental rights of rapists : towards stronger legal protection for rape victims and children conceived through rape

Abstract

As Maltese law stands today ambiguity reigns over the protection afforded to mothers who conceive children through rape and over the civil penalisation of those who father children from the violent assault. This dissertation aims to encourage an amendment to the Maltese Civil Code which will ensure that a rape victim who conceives through the assault along with her child are never bound to the rapist through parental rights. It shall be considered that most rapes often go unreported due to a variety of reasons including feelings of embarrassment of the victim or fear of hostility from law enforcement and harsh attacks on one’s character during criminal trials. Furthermore, due to the reason that most victims never see their rapist convicted, it is essential to provide a consistent and dependable alternative to raise the rape conceived child without interference from the rapist in the child’s upbringing. Instead of advocating for abortion in the cases of rape, sustainable and reliable legal solutions should be enacted for the victim to freely raise her rape-conceived child without being encumbered with the fear that her rapist may seek custody, also obliging the attacker to provide maintenance and recognise the child as a legitimate heir whilst still forfeiting all contact with the said child. Countries with legislation such as that found in the Maltese Civil Code seem to only be willing to protect a victim who is pregnant with a rape conceived child through ambiguous measures which would prove to be of little protection to a victim who may be reluctant to gamble with her and her child’s safety not knowing the outcome of the presiding court’s decision.