July 2018 AD
Consent by Marriage?
STOCKHOLM — “Sex must be voluntary — if it is not, then it is illegal.”
This is the straightforward language of a new Swedish law set to change
the way rape and other sexual crimes are prosecuted in the country.
Seems liberals are finally coming around to universal
Christian beliefs; albeit, coming from a totally different Godless
direction.
By taking a non-compromising, no prisoner taken alive stance of
ultimate protection of women, now men are left with no guaranteed right
to sex outside marriage whatsoever (and maybe even inside marriage).
The Swedish law places the total proof of consent upon men and men will
lose every time in a "He Said, She Said", "He's bigger than me", "He
threatened me" courtroom scenario.
Under these latest and final liberal rules, for women to give consent,
she must stand before all his and her closest friends as witnesses,
before all his and her closest family members as witnesses, to pledge
her sexual body to a man, allowing him "to have and to hold, from this
day forward", and even then, she must willingly and freely sign a
marriage contract agreeing to the same.
Only then can a Swedish man be truly protected from legal action by women.
No sex outside marriage at all, as each independent sexual act can be considered as non-consent.
No living together, as after living together for years, the woman may
one day simply say she did not give her consent for that particular day
and report her lover as a rapist.
No adultery, as the woman may again, especially if caught in the act,
say "She's a married woman and would NEVER agree to such an
arrangement". Off then the man goes to prison as a rapist, along with
the loss of wife of course.
And yes, no prostitution as the man may not know that the woman is
being held prisoner and forced to perform sex, and it will be said he
knew she was a sexual slave.
Obviously no one night stands are out, as there is no way in the world you can prove that was not a rape.
Again, we find God in his infinite wisdom was right all along.
Then again, liberals care nothing about traditional marriage anyway, so
this sentence may be applied to far too many marriages as well...
“We have a saying in Sweden: ‘If she is lying still, it is not her will.’”
....Married men must also beware. Not good for marriages, as if
she's not moving, then husbands may have the perfect excuse to
divorce her! "God forbid that I should rape my own wife against
her consent?
By Christina Anderson
May 23, 2018
STOCKHOLM — “Sex must be voluntary — if it is not, then it is illegal.”
This is the straightforward language of a new Swedish law set to change
the way rape and other sexual crimes are prosecuted in the country.
It is the first law in the country that acknowledges sex without
explicit consent as rape, a move lawmakers say is “based on the
obvious.” With the passage of the law, Sweden became the 10th country
in Western Europe to recognize nonconsensual sex as rape.
On Wednesday, the Swedish Parliament passed the law requiring explicit
consent — verbal or physical — from participants before they engage in
a sexual act. Under previous laws, prosecutors had to show that there
had been violence, a threat of violence or the exploitation of a victim
in a vulnerable state to establish rape.
Beginning on July 1, when the new law comes into effect, a prosecutor
will need simply show that explicit consent was never given.
While some argue that the law will be problematic to enforce, others say the legislation is more about changing the culture.
“These laws are normative — they are expressing what is acceptable in
society or not,” said Katarina Bergehed of the Swedish chapter of
Amnesty International.
Ms. Bergehed pointed to a law the country passed in 1979 against
hitting children, which she said changed the way society sees corporal
punishment. “We are hoping for the same when it comes to this new
consent-based law,” she said.
In a country where the number of reported sexual offenses is on the
rise, lawmakers hope the legislation will help change attitudes and
curtail sexual assaults.
“This is a modern legislation based on modern relationships,” said
Sweden’s justice minister, Morgan Johansson. “It should sit in the
spines of every boy and man in Sweden that this is how it is. That you
have to make sure that the one that you intend to have sex with is a
voluntary participant.”
According to Sweden’s annual national crime survey, the number of
people reporting that they had been victims of sexual crimes almost
tripled from 2012, when it was 0.8 percent of the adult population, to
2016, when it was 2.4 percent. Most assaults go unreported: Only 10
percent of those surveyed said they had told the police.
The government said in a statement that the new legislation would make
it possible to convict more people of sexual abuse than it is now.
Lawmakers hope that will lead to an increase in reporting.
Last year, only 60 percent of those who sought medical care at the rape
center at Sodersjukhuset Hospital in Stockholm filed a police report,
said Dr. Anna Moller, the head of the center. Dr. Moller supports the
new legislation and said it reflected the reality of rape.
“The expectation that there should be bruises and clear evidence of
physical resistance is also something this legislation moves away
from,” she said. “So we think it’s natural that only active
participation should be interpreted as a yes. Passivity cannot be read
as consent.”
Two new crimes — negligent rape and negligent sexual assault — have
also been added to the criminal code, for instances when one party goes
ahead with a sexual act without consent and where it should be obvious
to the offender that consent was not given. The maximum penalty for
negligent rape is four years.
The new legislation is not without its critics. The Swedish Bar Association is against the change.
“We have been very critical because it’s not going to lead to more
convictions,” Anne Ramberg, secretary general of the Swedish Bar
Association said. “The new legislation has not lowered the burden of
proof, since the prosecutor has to prove that a crime was committed and
they have to prove intent.”
The Istanbul Convention, a Council of Europe convention, is the most
comprehensive legal framework to tackle sexual violence against women
and girls and obliges signatories to ban all nonconsensual sexual acts.
A majority of European states that have signed on to the convention,
however, have yet to amend their definitions of rape.
Among those that have, Iceland changed its law earlier this year. Other
countries that have consent-based legislation include England, Ireland,
Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Cyprus, Belgium, and Germany.
Finland and Denmark are also considering similar proposals. Norway’s
Parliament rejected similar changes to its own laws last month.
The biggest impact of the new Swedish law might be a change in the
country’s mind-set about what constitutes rape, but it could also lead
to more attackers being prosecuted, said Anna Blus, who monitors rape
legislation in Europe for Amnesty International in London.
“In an ideal world, this will lead to more prosecutions and fewer rapes,” said Ms. Blus. “This will take time and training.”
That time and training is key, experts say. A recent Europe-wide survey
on gender-based violence revealed widespread victim blaming and
problematic views on consent. Nearly one-third of respondents said they
believed that sex without consent is sometimes justified.
Part of the problem, Ms. Blus said, is that people still see rape as an
attack carried out by a person who jumps out of the bushes and leaves
signs of physical violence on a victim. In reality, the majority of
rapes occur within relationships or are so-called date rapes.
Elin Sundin, the director of Fatta (“Get It”), an organization that has
promoted the passing of consent-based legislation for years, said the
new law would change attitudes about sex. But she said education needed
to be done for the police, in schools, in workplaces and in the care
sector.
“We need men to understand that if he is unsure, he should either ask
or just not go there,” she said. “We have a saying in Sweden: ‘If she
is lying still, it is not her will.’”
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