Legislative proposal to combat sexual violence more effectively sent to House of Representatives
All sexual encounters must take place voluntarily and between equals, both in the real world and online. Minister Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius (Justice and Security) will send a legislative proposal to combat sex crimes to the House of Representatives today for the purpose of enshrining this principle in criminal law.
‘Sexually transgressive behaviour is endemic in society. The time has come to call a halt to this. All of us should feel safe under all circumstances: when out on the street, at work, when chatting to someone online or in our own homes',
the minister said.
Review of the law and new criminal offences
When it comes to sexually transgressive behaviour, current criminal legislation is obsolete in some respects and does not go far enough in others. This makes it necessary to conduct a fundamental review of the law, which is exactly what this legislative proposal sets out to do. Its objective is to bring the law into line with digital developments and contemporary sexual mores. As an example, a sexual encounter with a person that you know or can reasonably be expected to know is unwilling will be made punishable as a type of rape or sexual assault. Sexual harassment in public (both online and in real life) will also be established as a criminal offence, punishable by up to three months’ imprisonment. In addition, ‘sex chatting’ – sexual overtures to children under the age of 16, e.g. in the form of online messages – will become punishable by up to two years’ imprisonment.
Minister Yeşilgöz-Zegerius:
‘Sexual violence and transgressive behaviour are unacceptable and must be stopped. This requires a broad societal front. Although criminal law is the last resort, I feel it is an essential component of this broad approach. That is why I am proposing to amend the law, so that we will be able to offer victims of sexual violence better protection. If adopted, this new piece of legislation will give victims of rape and sexual assault more opportunities to make a report to the police and criminalise sexual harassment and sex chatting.’
Working towards 2024
The intention is for the new legislation to come into force in 2024. In view of the wide scope of the updates to criminal law when it comes to sex crimes, meticulous preparation until that time with the involvement of all stakeholders will be essential for effective implementation. Consequently, an implementation project is now under way to prepare the relevant organisations for the coming into force of the new legislation. Until that time, all parties involved – including the police and the Public Prosecution Service – will work together on such projects as educating, training and recruiting the requisite specialist staff throughout the criminal justice system.
A long-term investment of 20 million euros has been made to implement the new legislation. Another one-off sum of 3.6 million euros has been invested for the same purpose.
Rape and sexual assault, online sexual violence and sexual harassment
The legislative proposal introduces the new offences of rape and sexual assault, making them punishable behaviour. Both offences are split into a guilt and an intent variant. The decisive factor for criminal liability in the intent variant is whether the person who performed sexual acts with the victim knew that the other person was unwilling to do so and nevertheless persisted. In contrast with current legislation, coercion, violence and threats will become aggravating circumstances, but will no longer be required for a conviction. The guilt variant refers to situations in which a person misinterprets the other person’s clear signals of unwillingness to the extent of making the erroneous assumption that the other person is willing to have sex after all. The person who initiates sex must be alert to whether the other person wants the same thing. If in any doubt, the initiator must verify whether the other person wants to go through with the sexual encounter.
The rise in the use of the internet, social media and smartphones has resulted in an increase in online interactions of a sexual nature. Children are particularly vulnerable to online sexual abuse, as they are using smartphones at an increasingly younger age and are much more accessible these days to people with malicious intent. The recent past has seen an increase in the number of sexual overtures made to children. In many cases, these overtures have also become more intrusive. In the case of children, online stalking of a sexual nature and grooming can develop very rapidly – a single chat session can sometimes be enough – and may last for months or even years. It is for this reason that sex chatting is to be made punishable as a type of sexual overture to children under the age of 16 in preparation of sexual abuse.
Sexual harassment in public – both online and in real life – is to be made a criminal offence as well. For the benefit of the implementation project, it will be investigated whether special investigating officers (BOA’s) can be given powers to assist police officers at the local level to combat sexual harassment in the street. The municipalities will therefore be closely involved in the implementation project.