THE GERMAN REFORM OF SEXUAL OFFENCES OF 2016

Abstract

In 2016, the German penal legislator has sharply reformed the law of sexual offences. The most important provision, legally but also from a media/symbolic point of view, is the § 177/1 StGB, that states – for the first time in a major Civil Law country – the principle that the contrary will (disagreement) of the victim is sufficient for the criminalization of a sexual conduct. Another relevant innovation is the criminalization of sexual acts imposed “with surprise” to the victim, as well as the introduction of a new offence of “sexual harassment”. Moreover, the new legislation comprises a peculiar new “side offence” (§ 184j) aimed at punishing the mere fact of being a member of a group that “induces” one (or more) of the other members to commit a sexual offence: this provision, however, appears to be a “symbolic” instrumentalization of criminal law, with no effective increase in protection of sexual freedom, while at the same time carrying a potential violation of fundamental guarantees in criminal law. In the whole, however, the reform of the Sexualstrafrecht is to be positively evaluated, especially in regards to victims' rights of sexual self determination.