20 Dec 2017

Swedish Rape Law Would Require Explicit Consent Before Sexual Contact

Via James, J4MB: The end of the piece:

Under current Swedish law, someone can be prosecuted for rape only if it is proven that they used threats or violence. Under the proposal, rape could be proven if the claimant did not give his or her explicit verbal agreement or clearly demonstrate a desire to engage in sexual activity. [J4MB: So could a man claim (truthfully or otherwise) that a woman had said something along the lines of, “Sven, my powerful love machine, I give you my explicit verbal agreement to sexual intercourse, and by playing with my exposed genitalia in an enthusiastically erotic fashion, I shall demonstrate my desire to engage in sexual activity with you, but before we proceed, can you please put on the Abba Greatest Hits CD? Silly me, I can never work out how to use the bloody CD player. Thanks!” and not be prosecuted?]
Stefan Lofven, the prime minister, said the “historic reform”, which his coalition has been preparing since taking power in 2014, aims to shift the burden of proof from the claimant in a rape or sexual assault case to the alleged attacker.
Addressing victims, he said: “Society is standing by your side.”
If the bill is approved, it would go into effect on 1 July.
The proposal is part of a series of initiatives being put forward. Others would make it illegal for Swedes to hire prostitutes abroad and increase sentences for offenders. Buying sex in Sweden is already illegal.
I predict we’ll have the Scandinavian model of criminalising male clients of prostitutes within the next five years.

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