Originally Posted by
darkwarrior42
No, not really... these kinds of situations are why courts exist, so that people can argue their cases.
problem is, the legal system in the country in question actively condones rape and deprivation of human rights, so the injured party does not have the option of a legal recourse. Such victims almost never have an opportunity to seek asylum, and their society prevents them from pursuing reasonable peaceful solutions.
If she chose to kill the rapist instead of running down to the police station, yeah, I might have a problem with that. When the police in question would hand-deliver her back into the arms of the rapist... that's a different story.
Beyond that, your absolute interpretation of the UN declaration would imply that the document prevents any kind of punishment or law enforcement from ever happening; after all, we imprison criminals, which deprives them of liberty, right? Clearly, that is not the intent of the document, and is contradicted by later articles which include stipulations regarding trial, arrest, and punishment... none of which would be necessary if such things were precluded by Article 3.
It's even less relevant when you take into account the following article:
"Article 16.
(1) Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.
(2) Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses.
(3) The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State."
Which clearly, this situation violates, yet the country's legal system takes no issue with it. It's a simple matter to realize that the country, therefore, does not abide by the UN declaration.
She killed a man because she saw no other way out. I will commend her for that. Doing so does not mean I condone thoughtless murder, nor does it mean that I think the rule of law is irrelevant, nor does it mean that I think every rape victim should kill their rapist. It means that I recognize that there are extenuating circumstances which can dramatically change what options you have available, and that I'm going to judge her based on her situation, not on some arbitrary hypothetical situation with alternatives that she did not have.