Sweden will ban sex without expressed consent

Abuse sex consent sweden #MeetooAbuse, Say no. Photo: Pixabay.com

Sweden will ban sex without expressed consent

The Swedish Government has proposed a law on consent that prohibits sex with people who do not say actually says “yes” or otherwise actively express a wish to participate.

 

– Sex must be voluntary. If it’s not voluntary, it’s illegal, says Prime Minister Stefan Löfven, who presented the bill at a press conference on Saturday together with Deputy Prime Minister Isabella Lövin and Minister of Justice, Morgan Johansson.

According to the Swedish Government, the law of consent will increase the clarity of the consent clause in the rape act, so that a person in any part in a sexual act must say yes or otherwise show willingness to participate.

The act implies in practical terms that several actions will be counted as rape and that the penalty framework is increased.

#MeToo

The proposal comes in the wake of the international #MeToo campaign that affects the world and is scheduled to be imposed as of June 1, 2018.

– The number of women exposed to sexual offenses is increasing, says Johansson, who points out that the law introduces new principles regarding “negligence” among other things.

Already today, a perpetrator may in most cases be convicted of rape. Since 2005, the term has been expanded several times to include more sexual acts.

A Similar proposal has also been proposed in Denmark, but did not receive a majority vote in the Folketing (Parliament) in April 2017.

 

© NTB Scanpix / Norway Today