Rape in Germany is defined by Section 177 of the Criminal Code of Germany. The definition of rape has changed over time from its original formulation in the penal code established in 1871, as extramarital intercourse with a woman by force or the threat of violence. In 1997 laws were amended to criminalize marital rape, incorporate gender-neutral language, and recognize the effect of psychological coercion. In 2016 German laws were rewritten to remove a previous requirement that a victim physically resist their assailants and be overcome by force. The new law recognized any physical or verbal cue that one party does not consent to sexual contact. It also mandated deportation for migrants convicted of sexual assault, made it easier to prosecute rapes committed by groups, and criminalized other types of unwanted sexual contact, such as groping or fondling. The changes followed a series of high-profile cases that sparked public outrage at the inadequacy of the law.
Incidence of rape in Germany has remained relatively stable, rising from 7.57 in 1995, to 9 per 100,000 people in 2009. Most victims are female and between the ages of 21 and 40. Nearly all perpetrators are male, and about half are current or former partners. Conviction rates have declined, going from 20% in the 1980s to as low as 8% in 2016, prior to major legislative reforms.
The prevalence of rape in Germany has remained relatively stable, and although the country has the second highest overall number of rapes reported in the EU, the number of reports per capita is average for the region. [2] [3] As of 1995 the recorded incidence of rape in Germany was 7.57 per 100,000 people. [4] In 2009, about 7,314 rape cases were reported, a rate of 9 per 100,000 people. [5] In 2011, there were about 7,539 reported cases of rape. [6] [5] [lower-alpha 2]
In a 2005 study by the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, out of a sample of 10,264 women, 13% had experienced sexual violence after the age of 16, and of these, only 8% had reported the incident to law enforcement. [7] : 13 From the same study, 6% reported experiencing rape, 4% attempted rape, 5% forced physical intimacy, and 4% some other form of forced sexual encounter. [8] [9] Nearly all (99%) of perpetrators were male, and half (49%) were current or former partners. For victims of sexual violence, 79% reported psychological symptoms, and 44% physical injuries. [8]
A study into sexual abuse sponsored by the European Commission and conducted by the Vienna-based Fundamental Rights Agency showed 8% of women had experienced sexual violence by partners, and 7% had experienced sexual violence by non-partners. [10] [11] Overall, between 92% and 96% of victims were female, [2] [5] and 70% were aged 21 to 40. Around 25% of victims were non-white, more than half were employed or students, and 6% experienced mental health issues, while 2% had some disability. [2]
Der Spiegel cited official crime statistics that 9.1% of sexual assaults reported in 2016 with at least one suspect registered had at least one suspect identified as an immigrant, a rise from 1.8% in 2012, and 2.6% in 2014. Some of this rise was attributed to the fact that in 2016, groping was made a criminal offence. [lower-alpha 3]
There is little data on rape or other sexual violence directed toward males, with "nearly all" available studies of sexual violence examining women as victims, and sexual violence against men "almost ignored". When taken into consideration, it is mostly concerning abuse of boys, rather than rape or assault as it pertains to adult males. One national study in Germany from 2004, as reported in a 2009 thesis, indicated that between 10% and 20% of boys are in some respect sexually abused, with about 33% of perpetrators being female. [13]
In 2018 a 14-year-old German Jewish girl, Susanna Feldmann was raped and murdered on the night of the 22 or 23 May 2018. Ali Bashar, a 20-year-old asylum seeker from Iraqi Kurdistan, was named as a suspect. [14] [15] The murder sparked a political debate in Germany. Ethnologist and head of the Research Centre of Global Islam Susanne Schröter at the Goethe University Frankfurt, said that these were no longer isolated incidents, speaking of a culture clash and suggesting that Germany needed to develop a new approach for dealing with aggressive men shaped by patriarchal cultures. [16] According to Schröter, there are within Islam, as with other religions, patriarchal norms that legitimize violence and sexual assault against specific types of women, and therefore some men from Islamic countries may view women in a completely different way. Far-right parties and social media exploited the case for their own ends. [15] [17] A fact-checking article in Der Spiegel found that fears of immigrant crime had been amplified by far-right propaganda in the public debate beyond the actual increase which was supported by official statistics. [18]
According to a national report, the conviction rate for rape in Germany has declined: it was 20% in the 1980s, and by 2000 it was 13%. [2] According to reports from Deutsche Presse-Agentur , prior to legal changes in 2016, 8% of rape trials resulted in a conviction. [19] Conviction rates varied substantially across geographic areas, and according to income, with the three richest states having a conviction rate of 24% and seeing number of cases reduced to nearly 65% of their former levels, and the three poorest states seeing a 40% increase in cases and a 4% conviction rate. [20]
Of those reported to authorities, most (87%) were reported by the victim, 96% were interviewed and provided a witness statement, but only 23% received a forensic medical examination, one of the lowest in the EU. [2]
Discussion of rape has long been a taboo in Germany, with victims, women's rights organizations, and politicians struggling for support on issues pertaining to sexual abuse and violence. [21] [22] There have been recent political discussions of reforming related laws so that they comply with the Istanbul convention, which requires all signatories to ensure that engaging in any non-consensual act of a sexual nature is criminalized. [23] [24]
Rape is generally reported to the police, although it is also allowed to be reported to the prosecutor or District Court. [2] Many urban areas and states have specialist units for rape and sexual assault, but these efforts are not coordinated at the federal level, and the presence of such a unit is dependent on the finances of the area, and such units are absent in many rural areas. [25]
Because of the German statutory maximum sentences, the harshest punishment possible for rape is imprisonment for a period of 15 years. [26] However, because it is not legally a form of punishment, courts may order "subsequent preventive detention" following the completion of a prison sentence for rape, in cases where the perpetrator suffers from a mental disorder, or would represent a serious danger to the public upon release. These may be of an indefinite period, subject to periodic reviews. [27] Officials may also temporarily deny perpetrators access to the household without a court order, put them under a restraining order, and require them to pay damages. [27]
The statute of limitations for severe sexual coercion is 20 years, and that for less serious cases is 10. In cases where the victim is a minor, this timeframe begins once the child turns 18 years-of-age. [25]
According to the German penal code established in 1871, the definition of rape was to compel "a woman to have extramarital intercourse...by force or the threat of present danger to life or limb," and was punishable by at least two years imprisonment. The law thus excluded any sexual contact between a married couple. [28] [29] Rape was grouped, along with sodomy and incest, as "crimes against personal honor, marriage, and the family." [30] More extensive punishments were provided in cases where the victim (presumed to be female only) was younger than 16, in cases of gang rape, and in cases of "major physical violence". [31]
The German penal code experienced a number of changes during the Nazi era. Changes considered in keeping with Nazi philosophy were removed by the Allied Control Council during the re-establishment of Germany. [32]
A 1966 ruling of the Bundesgerichtshof required married women to have sexual intercourse with their partners "repeatedly" and prescribed they must not be "unresponsive" during the consummation. [33]
Between 1969 and 1974 the West German penal code was reformed by five different pieces of legislation. [32] The fourth law for the reform of the penal code, dated 23 November 1973 (Viertes Gesetz zur Reform des Strafrechts - 4. StrRG), introduced changes shifting the focus from violations of morality to violations against the individual. [34]
In 1997, a broader definition was adopted, making the law gender neutral, abolishing the marital exemption, recognizing sexual violence which did not include penetration, and expanding the definition of force to include psychological coercion. This was done through the 13th criminal amendment, section 177–179, which deals with sexual abuse. [4] [35] [36] The 1997 reform (due to the Dreiunddreißigstes Strafrechtsänderungsgesetz, 33rd law to change the penal code) created a new system by combining sexual assault and rape into one statue, with sexual assault as the "base" crime. Rape, which was now defined as involving penetration, was made into a subset of sexual assault, as a particularly serious form. [37] [38] [39]
Reflecting the law's emphasis on the requirement for the use of force, a 2006 decision by the Federal Court of Justice of Germany overturned a lower court's conviction for rape, on the grounds that the "accused ripped off the clothes from the body of the co-plaintiff and had sexual intercourse with her against her explicitly expressed will”, but had not “forced the victim with violence". [40] According to a study performed in 2014, by an organization of women's counseling and rape crisis centers, out of 107 studied cases of rape, the majority of perpetrators were not prosecuted, because their actions fell outside the legal definition at the time. [41]
The Sixth Criminal Law Reform Act, passed in 1998 included a number of changes intended to harmonize sentencing for sexual, and non-sexual offenses, and generally resulted in increases in severity for sexual offenses. It also included provisions related to the protection of children, the disabled, the institutionalized, and drug addicts. [42]
The 2002 Violence Protection Act (Gewaltschutzgesetz) focussed broadly on all forms of domestic violence. While the previous assumption was that victims should leave their joint residence, the introduction of this law gave civil courts the power to serve orders on the perpetrator to vacate the residence. [43]
On 23 September 2016, the law was reformed again, with a new focus on lack of consent rather than resistance on the part of the victim. [44] [45] It broadened the legal definition to include "any sexual act that a victim declines through verbal or physical cues, whereas the previous law required the victim fight back," and other forms of non-consensual sexual contact, such as groping and fondling, were not illegal. [46] The new law strengthened penalties for all perpetrators of sexual assault, mandated deportation for convicted migrants, and made it easier to prosecute assaults committed by large groups. [44]
The law also provided equal punishment under the following circumstances, if the perpetrator:
Although the law dropped the previous requirement for the use of coercion or force by the perpetrator, it incorporated these elements as an aggravating factor, along with situations where the victim is incapacitated due to disease or disability. [45]
The changes followed a series of cases that sparked public outrage, and the popularity of the #NeinHeisstNein (no means no) campaign. [46] [47] These included the acquittal of two men charged with drugging and raping Gina-Lisa Lohfink, and posting video of it online, a video in which "she reportedly says 'stop it' and 'no' as they force themselves on her". [46] [48] It also followed the events of the 2015/2016 New Year's Eve, mainly in the city of Cologne, where hundreds of women were sexually assaulted, but through actions which, it was ultimately determined, were not illegal under the current law. [46] Other high-profile cases included the 2016 murder of Maria Ladenburger and 2018 killing of Susanna Feldman non, which gained attention because the attacks were carried out by immigrants. [49] [50]
Consensual sex is legal from the age of 14 in most cases. There is an exception if the older partner is above the age of 18, and is “exploiting a coercive situation” or offering compensation, and the younger partner is under 16. It is also illegal for someone older than 21 to have sex with someone under the age of 16 if the older person “exploits the victim’s lack of capacity for sexual self-determination.” [27]
Beginning in 1984, victims may access government funded legal services according to means tested eligibility criteria. More commonly, victims who cannot afford legal representation may be appointed a lawyer; however, prosecutors are obliged to pursue the case regardless of whether the victim is a party to the proceedings. [25] Victims may also receive services from privately run Weisser Ring ("White Ring") victim support organizations, or Notruf, "BIG" and Wildwasser rape crisis centers located throughout the country. Representatives from these organizations may accompany the victims in filing reports, during interviews, and throughout legal proceedings. [25]
In the Soviet invasion of Germany during World War II a large number of mass rapes were committed by the Red Army, in Germany as well as in other countries previously occupied by the Nazi army. [51] Estimates range from tens of thousands to as many as two million victims, with non-Slavic and particularly ethnically German women targeted. [52] [53] In the words of one contemporary observer, "the Russian soldiers were raping every German female from eight to eighty." [54] Many victims were mutilated, and subjected to gang rape or repeated rape over the course of several days. The Soviet leadership did little to prevent the violence. [54] [52] [lower-alpha 4]
Some have estimated the number of rapes committed by U.S. servicemen in Germany to be 11,000, with the phrase "copulation without conversation is not fraternization" allegedly being used as a motto by United States Army troops. [55] [56]
One survey estimates that the French occupation forces committed "385 rapes in the Constance area; 600 in Bruchsal; and 500 in Freudenstadt." [57] French Moroccan soldiers were alleged to have committed widespread rape in the Höfingen District near Leonberg. [58] According to historian Norman Naimark and colleagues, "the poor discipline and rapacity of soviet soldier was matched in the Western zones only by French Moroccan troops," specifically during the occupations of Baden and Württemberg. [59]
Sexual assault is an act in which one intentionally sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their will. It is a form of sexual violence that includes child sexual abuse, groping, rape, drug facilitated sexual assault, and the torture of the person in a sexual manner.
Some victims of rape or other sexual violence incidents are male. It is estimated that approximately one in six men experienced sexual abuse during childhood. Historically, rape was thought to be, and defined as, a crime committed solely against females. This belief is still held in some parts of the world, but rape of males is now commonly criminalized and has been subject to more discussion than in the past.
Marital rape or spousal rape is the act of sexual intercourse with one's spouse without the spouse's consent. The lack of consent is the essential element and doesn't always involve physical violence. Marital rape is considered a form of domestic violence and sexual abuse. Although, historically, sexual intercourse within marriage was regarded as a right of spouses, engaging in the act without the spouse's consent is now widely classified as rape by many societies around the world, and increasingly criminalized. However it is repudiated by some more conservative cultures.
Victim blaming occurs when the victim of a crime or any wrongful act is held entirely or partially at fault for the harm that befell them. There is historical and current prejudice against the victims of domestic violence and sex crimes, such as the greater tendency to blame victims of rape than victims of robbery if victims and perpetrators knew each other prior to the commission of the crime. The Gay Panic Defense has also been used to justify violence against LGBT people.
Rape is a type of sexual assault initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, under threat or manipulation, by impersonation, or with a person who is incapable of giving valid consent.
Statistics on rape and other acts of sexual assault are commonly available in industrialized countries, and have become better documented throughout the world. Inconsistent definitions of rape, different rates of reporting, recording, prosecution and conviction for rape can create controversial statistical disparities, and lead to accusations that many rape statistics are unreliable or misleading.
Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person who is incapable of giving valid consent, such as one who is unconscious, incapacitated, has an intellectual disability, or is below the legal age of consent. The term rape is sometimes used interchangeably with the term sexual assault.
Rape in the Philippines is considered a criminal offense. In Philippine jurisprudence, it is a heinous crime punishable by reclusión perpetua when committed against women. Rape of males is also legally recognized as rape by sexual assault, which is penalized by imprisonment of six to twelve years.
In common law jurisdictions, statutory rape is nonforcible sexual activity in which one of the individuals is below the age of consent. Although it usually refers to adults engaging in sexual contact with minors under the age of consent, it is a generic term, and very few jurisdictions use the actual term statutory rape in the language of statutes. In statutory rape, overt force or threat is usually not present. Statutory rape laws presume coercion because a minor or mentally disabled adult is legally incapable of giving consent to the act.
A false accusation of rape happens when a person states that they or another person have been raped when no rape has occurred.
Rape in the United States is defined by the United States Department of Justice as "Penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim." While definitions and terminology of rape vary by jurisdiction in the United States, the FBI revised its definition to eliminate a requirement that the crime involve an element of force.
Rape is the fourth most common crime against women in India. According to the 2021 annual report of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), 31,677 rape cases were registered across the country, or an average of 86 cases daily, a rise from 2020 with 28,046 cases, while in 2019, 32,033 cases were registered. Of the total 31,677 rape cases, 28,147 of the rapes were committed by persons known to the victim. The share of victims who were minors or below 18 – the legal age of consent – stood at 10%.
Prosecution of gender-targeted crimes is the legal proceedings to prosecute crimes such as rape and domestic violence. The earliest documented prosecution of gender-based/targeted crimes is from 1474 when Sir Peter von Hagenbach was convicted for rapes committed by his troops. However, the trial was only successful in indicting Sir von Hagenbach with the charge of rape because the war in which the rapes occurred was "undeclared" and thus the rapes were considered illegal only because of this. Gender-targeted crimes continued to be prosecuted, but it was not until after World War II when an international criminal tribunal – the International Military Tribunal for the Far East – were officers charged for being responsible of the gender-targeted crimes and other crimes against humanity. Despite the various rape charges, the Charter of the Tokyo Tribunal did not make references to rape, and rape was considered as subordinate to other war crimes. This is also the situation for other tribunals that followed, but with the establishments of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), there was more attention to the prosecution of gender-targeted crimes with each of the statutes explicitly referring to rape and other forms of gender-targeted violence.
Marital rape is illegal in all 50 US states, though the details of the offence vary by state.
Rape in Sweden has a legal definition described in Chapter 6 in the Swedish Penal Code. Historically, rape has been defined as forced sexual intercourse initiated against a woman or man by one or several people, without consent. In recent years, several revisions to the definition of rape have been made to the law of Sweden, to include not only intercourse but also comparable sexual acts against someone incapable of giving consent, due to being in a vulnerable situation, such as a state of fear or unconsciousness.
Sexual violence means that someone forces or manipulates someone else into unwanted sexual activity without their consent. Such violence can take place in both heterosexual and homosexual relationships, as well as outside intimate relationships. All sexual offenses violate the basic right of sexual self-determination. In Finland, sexual violence and taking advantage of a person is always a crime, even if the assaulter was the victim's spouse, relative or their friend. Sexual offences include but are not limited to rape, forcing someone into a sexual act and taking sexual advantage of a person. The victims of sexual violence are predominantly women, but 26 percent of Finnish men have experienced sexual harassment since their 15th birthday.
Non-consensual condom removal, or "stealthing", is the practice of a person removing a condom during sexual intercourse without consent, when their sex partner has only consented to condom-protected sex. Purposefully damaging a condom before or during intercourse may also be referred to as stealthing, regardless of who damaged the condom.
A marry-your-rapist law, marry-the-rapist law, or rape-marriage law is a rule of rape law in a jurisdiction under which a man who commits rape, sexual assault, statutory rape, abduction or other similar act is exonerated if he marries his female victim, or in some jurisdictions at least offers to marry her. The "marry-your-rapist" law is a legal way for the accused to avoid prosecution or punishment.
On 2 April 2017, a young woman was raped by a stranger at the Siegaue nature reserve in the Rhein-Sieg-Kreis, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The case received a lot of media coverage because of the perpetrator's status as an illegal immigrant and failed asylum seeker.
Sexual consent plays an important role in laws regarding rape, sexual assault and other forms of sexual violence. In a court of law, whether or not the alleged victim had freely given consent, and whether or not they were deemed to be capable of giving consent, can determine whether the alleged perpetrator is guilty of rape, sexual assault or some other form of sexual misconduct.
Nevertheless, violent offences – particularly bodily injury and robbery – have also increased especially during the last fifteen years (figure 2). However, the rate for the most serious violent crimes – murder and rape – is relatively stable over time or even declining.
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: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)In some instances, neither prosecutors nor police had ever heard of the purported crime