Council of Europe says law should criminalise lack of consent not just use of violence

Finland is facing calls from the Council of Europe to reform its rape laws to criminalise a lack of consent rather than just the use of violence.

The human rights body said Finland’s legislation lagged behind international standards despite the country’s strong record in furthering gender equality.

The council’s group of experts on action against violence against women and domestic violence “strongly encouraged” swift action in its first report on the country.

It said: “Rape continues to be categorised according to the degree of physical violence used or threatened by the perpetrator or a requirement to show that the victim was in a state of fear or helplessness and unable to defend herself or to formulate or express her will.

“The problem with this approach is that it does not fully capture the realities of women experiencing sexual violence and how they respond to threat (ie flight, fight, freeze, flop or befriend).”

The council said that as a consequence, “not all forms of sexual violence are criminalised in Finland … Other consequences include the requirement of higher thresholds of evidentiary standards of physical resistance and a shifting of the focus on to the victim’s behaviour rather than the accused’s actions.”

In response to a series of high-profile cases where lax penalties imposed on offenders caused an outcry, the Finnish ministry of justice has recently established a working group to recommend on required reforms by the end of May 2020.

Calls for change were amplified last year when Finland’s supreme court ruled that a man who sexually abused a 10-year-old girl could not be charged with rape as there was no evidence the crime had involved violence or that the child was overcome by fear.

Finland’s recently elected centre-left government said in response to the council’s report that its programme published in June had highlighted the need to act against violence against women and raise the level of resources spent on those involved.

The council’s report said criminal penalties for sexual offences in Finland were “very low” in comparison with other signatories to the Council of Europe’s Istanbul convention, which sets standards for its members.

The council’s report also highlighted the need to increase the number of female police officers in Finland, the lack of training available to prosecutors and law enforcement officers on intervening in cases involving sexual violence, and the need for more shelters for those suffering abuse in their homes.

Finland regularly emerges as a leading light in gender equality rankings, and it was the first country to grant women full political rights, but its approach to sexual violence, along with that of its Nordic neighbours, has long been a concern.

Last November, Amnesty International published a report in which it claimed that out of 31 European countries they examined, only eight had consent-based definitions of rape. Denmark also defines rape as involving force or a threat of violence, rather than looking at whether or not there was consent.

Anna Blus, Amnesty International’s women’s rights researcher in Europe, said: “In many ways, Finland is a model country for gender equality, but its antiquated rape laws are badly failing women. The definition of rape in Finnish law, which is based on physical violence and incapacity, is outdated and discourages survivors from coming forward.”

• This article was amended on 3 September 2019 to remove a description of Denmark as Finland’s neighbour.