One new law is not enough

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In the future, in order for sex without consent to be considered rape, it will be enough to refuse the victims. On Tuesday, after months of deliberations, the Council of States approved a decision that modernizes Swiss sexual criminal law. The so-called freezing, when the victims go into a kind of shock, is also considered no. They started talking about a “small revolution” – undoubtedly an important step. But this is not the end of the work.

According to a survey conducted by GFS Bern, only eight percent of all women who have been sexually assaulted report the act at all. The rest of the victims are silent. From shame. Or for fear of not being believed. This feeling does not deceive them: if victims report sexual violence, they have to take on a lot.

It is true that victims have to repeatedly disclose the most intimate details of a crime in a fair criminal trial. But certainly not otherwise: the victims repeatedly say that prosecutors or judges accuse them of complicity. Depending on what clothes they wore at the time, how much they drank. Procedures often lead to re-traumatization.

Such statements show how outdated or simply misconceptions about sexual acts and, even worse, about “right” or “wrong” victims still infiltrate the authorities.

No is no, even if the woman voluntarily goes to the man’s house. “No” remains “no” even if the woman is in bed with him.

Law enforcement needs to make improvements here. Learning how to speak respectfully to survivors of sexual violence should become standard practice. However, as experts say, this is sometimes openly objected to, in particular, by judges. Support for victims also needs to be improved. Too often they are left alone with the stresses of the process.

A reasonable option would be, for example, the introduction of so-called free psychosocial process support, as is already done in Germany and Austria.

Social workers specially trained in this regard are a kind of trusted person for the victims who will support them throughout the process. The purpose of this procedure is to prevent re-traumatization. Procedures remain cumbersome, but the victim will be treated more professionally. This would be the start.

Source: Blick