Thursday 24 May 2018

Sweden approves new law recognising sex without consent as rape


Sweden has passed a new law saying that sex without consent is rape, even when there are no threats or force involved. The new law, due to come into effect on 1 July, says a person must give clear consent, verbal or physical. Prosecutors will no longer need to prove violence or that the victim was in a vulnerable situation in order to establish rape.
Activists have welcomed the changes but critics say the law will not increase the number of rape convictions. With the new legislation, approved in parliament by 257 votes against 38, Sweden joins other European countries like the United Kingdom and Germany where sex without consent is considered rape.
It says the lack of consent is enough to constitute a crime. It is "based on the obvious: sex must be voluntary", the government said when the legislation was proposed.
The approved text stops short of making expressed consent a condition for sex but states that passivity is not a sign of agreeing to sex.
"If a person wants to engage in sexual activities with someone who remains inactive or gives ambiguous signals, he or she will therefore have to find out if the other person is willing."
Under the previous legislation, prosecutors had to prove that the perpetrator had used violence or that the victim had been exploited in a vulnerable condition, such as under the influence of alcohol, in order to secure a rape conviction.
The law introduces two new offences, negligent rape and negligent sexual abuse, carrying a maximum prison term of four years.
"The negligence aspect focuses on the fact that one of the parties did not participate voluntarily," the government said, adding that it would be possible to convict more people of sexual abuse.

Source: BBC

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