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Germany begins reforming sex crime law after Cologne
[DW] Germany is moving closer to reforming its old sex crime laws, making it easier to prosecute rapists and sex attackers, though Green and Left party politicians as well as women's groups argue that the reforms need to put more emphasis on the perpetrator rather than the victim.Thursday's Bundestag debate on the matter found Social Democrat Justice Minister Heiko Maas open to a further tightening of the law. He told the chamber that he was "certainly ready" to discuss further regulations, and called for the changes to be brought in quickly. But he also defended the draft law as it stood, giving public broadcaster ARD the following example: "If a woman somewhere on an isolated car park can't reach help and prefers to get the ordeal over as quickly as possible," then from now on it will be easier to secure a conviction. Making consent explicit The reforms are meant to criminalize acts where the perpetrator uses surprise or intimidation to exploit the victim. Currently, section 177 of Germany's criminal code offers three definitions of rape, as sexual coercion carried out: 1. by force; 2. by threat of imminent danger to life or limb; or 3. by exploiting a situation in which the victim is unprotected and at the mercy of the offender. Posted by: Fred 2016-04-29 |
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