The Social Service of Catholic Women (SkF) demands a more far-reaching reform of sexual criminal law than envisaged by the federal cabinet. The bill would not do justice to the fundamental right to sexual self-determination.
The draft closes gaps in protection, but it still follows the basic idea "that an assault is only punishable if the perpetrator uses violence and the victim resists," the SkF explained in Dortmund on Monday.
Absence of opposition was formulated only as an exception. Thus the bill would not do justice to the fundamental right to sexual self-determination and would not comply with the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence. "Here we see an urgent need for improvement," says the SkF, which is the provider of women's shelters, intervention and counseling centers for victims of violence.
Demand: "Grabbing" as an independent criminal offense
In addition, according to the social service, the current draft does not take into account certain acts of "physical, sexual harassment" such as the so-called grabbing. This should be included in the law as an independent criminal offense, the demand says.
On Wednesday, the federal cabinet had brought a tightening of the sexual criminal law on the parliamentary way. The project is also to be seen in connection with the attacks on women on New Year's Eve in Cologne. After that, the Bundesrat had already called for improvements to the bill and voiced similar criticism.