Germany lawmakers approve ‘no means no’ rape law

G erman lawmakers unanimously approved a law broadening the definition of sex crimes on Thursday, following fierce scrutiny in the wake of mass attacks on New Year’s Eve in Cologne.

The new law removes the need for women to prove they fought an assailant, making the verbal refusal of consent sufficient grounds for a charge – in line with other European countries.

The law, entitled “improving the protection of sexual self-determination”, also lowers the bar for deporting sex offenders, classifies groping as a sex crime and targets assaults committed by large groups.

An estimated 1,000 women reported having been sexually assaulted by men operating in a seemingly coordinated way at Cologne’s main train station on New Year’s Eve. Poster reads “No violence against women”.

Most of the suspects during the New Year’s Eve assaults were accused of groping and facilitating sex assaults as part of a group – accusations that were hard to prosecute under the country’s criminal code.

News agency DPA cited figures that 8,000 rapes are reported in Germany each year but that only one in 10 victims files charges.

Activists say stricter rape laws in the country have been slow moving – especially compared to other Western countries.

Activists lauded the new law but said it does not go far enough in helping those victims who can not express a lack of consent, those who have been drugged, for example.

The bill was expected to pass easily thanks to the government’s large parliamentary majority.

The attacks, which ranged from groping to rape, were blamed largely on Arab and North African men and forced Germany to re-examine its attitude to a massive influx of refugees and migrants.

The measure was criticised as unworkable and possibly unconstitutional by legal experts.

Not only were the men cleared of wrongdoing, but the model was fined 24,000 euros ($27,000) for falsely testifying.

Under the new law, prosecutors and courts can take into account that a victim didn’t resist assault because they were incapacitated, surprised or feared greater violence if they objected.

Shaming tactics are why few rape victims in Germany go to the police when they are attacked, Lunz said. Experts have long argued that the country’s criminal code lags behind most other developed countries, where sexual assault is more broadly defined in cases such as non-consensual contact. A 26-year-old Algerian man was convicted of abetting a sexual assault and attempted assault, and given the same sentence.

This was the case for Germany’s Next Top Model Gina-Lisa Lohfink, who was in court appealing a almost $27,000 penalty for “falsely testifying” by accusing two men of drugging and raping her in 2012.