Germany: Tougher rape laws approved in wake of Cologne attacks

Germany’s parliament has approved legislation to introduce a wider definition of rape and toughen sanctions for sexual assaults.

MPs agreed to revise the definition of rape to include cases where the victim withheld consent but did not physically resist the attack.

Germany’s Justice Minister Heiko Maas said the law, popularly dubbed the “No means No” law, would cover “the actual situations in which most attacks occur”.

Eva Hoegl, one of the bill’s sponsors, told AFP: “It is crucial that we finally embed the principle ‘No means No’ in criminal law and make every non-consensual sexual act a punishable offence.”

Other provisions have reportedly been included as a response to reports of mass sexual assaults in Cologne during the New Year’s celebrations.

The legislation introduces a new specific offence of “groping”, which carries a sentence of up to two years in prison or a fine, and lowers the bar for deporting foreigners who have been convicted of sex crimes.

The legislation also allows for the prosecution of people who are in a group with people who are committing assaults, even if it is not proven that the person in question took part in the assaults.