Rape in Germany is defined by Section 177 of the
Criminal Code of Germany. The definition of rape has changed over time from its original formulation in the penal code established in 1871, as
extramarital intercourse
Extramarital sex occurs when a married person engages in sexual activity with someone other than their spouse.
The term may be applied to the situation of a single person having sex with a married person.
Where extramarital sexual relations do n ...
with a woman by force or the threat. In 1997 laws were amended to criminalize
marital rape
Marital rape or spousal rape is the act of sexual intercourse with one's spouse without the spouse's consent. The lack of consent is the essential element and need not involve physical violence. Marital rape is considered a form of domestic vi ...
, incorporate
gender-neutral
Gender neutrality (adjective form: gender-neutral), also known as gender-neutralism or the gender neutrality movement, is the idea that policies, language, and other social institutions (social structures or gender roles) should avoid distinguish ...
language, and recognize the effect of psychological
coercion
Coercion () is compelling a party to act in an involuntary manner by the use of threats, including threats to use force against a party. It involves a set of forceful actions which violate the free will of an individual in order to induce a desi ...
. In 2016 German laws were rewritten to remove a previous requirement that a victim physically resist their assailants and be overcome by force. The new law recognized any physical or verbal cue that one party does not
consent
Consent occurs when one person voluntarily agrees to the proposal or desires of another. It is a term of common speech, with specific definitions as used in such fields as the law, medicine, research, and sexual relationships. Consent as und ...
to sexual contact. It also mandated deportation for
migrants convicted of
sexual assault
Sexual assault is an act in which one intentionally sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their will. It is a form of sexual violence, which ...
, made it easier to prosecute rapes committed by groups, and criminalized other types of unwanted sexual contact, such as
groping
In a sexual context, groping is the act of intentionally touching another person in a sexual manner without their consent. The term generally has a negative connotation in many societies, and the activity may be considered sexual assault or ot ...
or fondling. The changes followed a series of high-profile cases that sparked public outrage at the inadequacy of the law.
Incidence of rape in Germany has remained relatively stable, rising from 7.57 in 1995, to 9 per 100,000 people in 2009. Most victims are female and between the ages of 21 and 40. Nearly all perpetrators are male, and about half are current or former partners.
Conviction rates have declined, going from 20% in the 1980s to as low as 8% in 2016, prior to major legislative reforms.
Germany was the
site of mass rape by the invading
Soviet army
uk, Радянська армія
, image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg
, alt =
, caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army
, start_date ...
, during the latter part of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, with the estimated number of victims ranging from tens of thousands to as many as two million.
World War II
In the
Soviet invasion of Germany during World War II a large number of mass rapes were committed by the
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...
, in Germany as well as in other countries previously occupied by the
Nazi army
The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...
. Estimates range from tens of thousands to as many as two million victims, with non-Slavic and particularly ethnically German women targeted.
In the words of one contemporary observer, "the Russian soldiers were raping every German female from eight to eighty."
Many victims were mutilated, and subjected to
gang rape
Gang rape, also called serial gang rape, group rape, or multiple perpetrator rape in scholarly literature,Ullman, S. E. (2013). 11 Multiple perpetrator rape victimization. Handbook on the Study of Multiple Perpetrator Rape: A Multidisciplinary Re ...
or repeated rape over the course of several days. The Soviet leadership did little to prevent the violence.
Some have estimated the number of rapes committed by U.S. servicemen in Germany to be 11,000, with the phrase "copulation without conversation is not fraternization" allegedly being used as a motto by United States Army troops.
[Schrijvers, Peter (1998). ''The Crash of Ruin: American Combat Soldiers in Europe During World War II''. New York: New York University Press. p. 183. .]
One survey estimates that the French occupation forces committed "385 rapes in the
Constance
Constance may refer to:
Places
*Konstanz, Germany, sometimes written as Constance in English
*Constance Bay, Ottawa, Canada
* Constance, Kentucky
* Constance, Minnesota
* Constance (Portugal)
* Mount Constance, Washington State
People
* Consta ...
area; 600 in
Bruchsal
Bruchsal (; orig. Bruohselle, Bruaselle, historically known in English as Bruxhall; South Franconian: ''Brusel'') is a city at the western edge of the Kraichgau, approximately 20 km northeast of Karlsruhe in the state of Baden-Württemberg, ...
; and 500 in
Freudenstadt
Freudenstadt ( Swabian: ''Fraidestadt'') is a town in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. It is capital of the district Freudenstadt. The closest population centres are Offenburg to the west (approx. 36 km away) and Tübingen to the eas ...
." French Moroccan soldiers were alleged to have committed widespread rape in the Höfingen District near
Leonberg
Leonberg (; swg, Leaberg) is a town in the German federal state of Baden-Württemberg about to the west of Stuttgart, the state capital. About 45,000 people live in Leonberg, making it the third-largest borough in the rural district (''Landkr ...
.
[Stephenson, Jill (2006) ]
Hitler's Home Front: Württemberg under the Nazis
' London: Continuum. p. 289. . According to historian
Norman Naimark
Norman M. Naimark (; born 1944, New York City) is an American historian. He is the Robert and Florence McDonnell Professor of Eastern European Studies at Stanford University, and a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution. He writes on modern Easte ...
and colleagues, "the poor discipline and rapacity of soviet soldier was matched in the Western zones only by French Moroccan troops," specifically during the occupations of
Baden
Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine.
History
The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden is ...
and
Württemberg
Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart.
Together with Baden and Hohenzollern, two other historical territories, Würt ...
.
Modern prevalence
![Incidents of rape in Germany 1977-2003](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4d/Incidents_of_rape_in_Germany_1977-2003.png)
The prevalence of rape in Germany has remained relatively stable, and although the country has the second highest overall number of rapes reported in the EU, the number of reports per capita is average for the region.
[ As of 1995 the recorded incidence of rape in Germany was 7.57 per 100,000 people.] In 2009, about 7,314 rape cases were reported, a rate of 9 per 100,000 people.[ In 2011, there were about 7,539 reported cases of rape.][
In a 2005 study by the ]Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth
The Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (german: Bundesministerium für Familie, Senioren, Frauen und Jugend, ), abbreviated BMFSFJ, is a German Cabinet, cabinet-level ministry of the Federal Republic of Germany. ...
, out of a sample of 10,264 women, 13% had experienced sexual violence
Sexual violence is any sexual act or attempt to obtain a sexual act by violence or coercion, act to traffic a person, or act directed against a person's sexuality, regardless of the relationship to the victim.World Health Organization., World re ...
after the age of 16, and of these, only 8% had reported the incident to law enforcement. From the same study, 6% reported experiencing rape, 4% attempted rape, 5% forced physical intimacy, and 4% some other form of forced sexual encounter. Nearly all (99%) of perpetrators were male, and half (49%) were current or former partners. For victims of sexual violence, 79% reported psychological symptoms, and 44% physical injuries.
A study into sexual abuse sponsored by the European Commission
The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...
and conducted by the Vienna-based Fundamental Rights Agency
The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, usually known in English as the Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA), is a Vienna-based agency of the European Union inaugurated on 1 March 2007. It was established by Council Regulation (EC) No 168/20 ...
showed 8% of women had experienced sexual violence by partners, and 7% had experienced sexual violence by non-partners. Overall, between 92% and 96% of victims were female, and 70% were aged 21 to 40. Around 25% of victims were non-white, more than half were employed or students, and 6% experienced mental health
Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making. Mental health ...
issues, while 2% had some disability.
''Der Spiegel
''Der Spiegel'' (, lit. ''"The Mirror"'') is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. With a weekly circulation of 695,100 copies, it was the largest such publication in Europe in 2011. It was founded in 1947 by John Seymour Chaloner ...
'' cited official crime statistics that 9.1% of sexual assaults reported in 2016 with at least one suspect registered had at least one suspect identified as an immigrant, a rise from 1.8% in 2012, and 2.6% in 2014. Some of this rise was attributed to the fact that in 2016, groping was made a criminal offence.
There is little data on rape or other sexual violence directed toward males, with "nearly all" available studies of sexual violence examining women as victims, and sexual violence against men "almost ignored". When taken into consideration, it is mostly concerning abuse of boys, rather than rape or assault as it pertains to adult males. One national study in Germany from 2004, as reported in a 2009 thesis, indicated that between 10% and 20% of boys are in some respect sexually abused, with about 33% of perpetrators being female.
Public debate on migrant crime
In 2018 a 14-year-old German Jewish girl, Susanna Feldmann was raped and murdered
Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the c ...
on the night of the 22 or 23 May 2018. Ali Bashar, a 20-year-old asylum seeker
An asylum seeker is a person who leaves their country of residence, enters another country and applies for asylum (i.e., international protection) in that other country. An asylum seeker is an immigrant who has been forcibly displaced and mi ...
from Iraqi Kurdistan
Iraqi Kurdistan or Southern Kurdistan ( ku, باشووری کوردستان, Başûrê Kurdistanê) refers to the Kurdish-populated part of northern Iraq. It is considered one of the four parts of "Kurdistan" in Western Asia, which also incl ...
, was named as a suspect. The murder sparked a political debate in Germany. Ethnologist
Ethnology (from the grc-gre, ἔθνος, meaning 'nation') is an academic field that compares and analyzes the characteristics of different peoples and the relationships between them (compare cultural, social, or sociocultural anthropology) ...
and head of the Research Centre of Global Islam Susanne Schröter
Susanne Schröter (born 1957) is a contemporary Social Anthropologist focussing primarily on Islam, Gender and Conflict Studies.
Biography
Susanne Schröter is head of a research group on "Contemporary discourses on state and society in the Isla ...
at the Goethe University Frankfurt
Goethe University (german: link=no, Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main) is a university located in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It was founded in 1914 as a citizens' university, which means it was founded and funded by the wealt ...
, said that these were no longer isolated incidents, speaking of a culture clash and suggesting that Germany needed to develop a new approach for dealing with aggressive men shaped by patriarchal
Patriarchy is a social system in which positions of Dominance hierarchy, dominance and Social privilege, privilege are primarily held by men. It is used, both as a technical Anthropology, anthropological term for families or clans controll ...
cultures. According to Schröter, there are within Islam, as with other religions, patriarchal norms that legitimize violence
Violence is the use of physical force so as to injure, abuse, damage, or destroy. Other definitions are also used, such as the World Health Organization's definition of violence as "the intentional use of physical force or Power (social and p ...
and sexual assault
Sexual assault is an act in which one intentionally sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their will. It is a form of sexual violence, which ...
against specific types of women, and therefore some men from Islamic countries
The terms Muslim world and Islamic world commonly refer to the Islamic community, which is also known as the Ummah. This consists of all those who adhere to the religious beliefs and laws of Islam or to societies in which Islam is practiced. In ...
may view women in a completely different way. Far-right parties and social media exploited the case for their own ends. A fact-checking article in Der Spiegel
''Der Spiegel'' (, lit. ''"The Mirror"'') is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. With a weekly circulation of 695,100 copies, it was the largest such publication in Europe in 2011. It was founded in 1947 by John Seymour Chaloner ...
found that fears of immigrant crime had been amplified by far-right propaganda in the public debate beyond the actual increase which was supported by official statistics.
Law enforcement response
According to a national report, the conviction rate for rape in Germany has declined: it was 20% in the 1980s, and by 2000 it was 13%.[
According to reports from '']Deutsche Presse-Agentur
Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH (dpa) is a German news agency founded in 1949. Based in Hamburg, it has grown to be a major worldwide operation serving print media, radio, television, online, mobile phones, and national news agencies. News is avai ...
'', prior to legal changes in 2016, 8% of rape trials resulted in a conviction. Conviction rates varied substantially across geographic areas, and according to income, with the three richest states having a conviction rate of 24% and seeing number of cases reduced to nearly 65% of their former levels, and the three poorest states seeing a 40% increase in cases and a 4% conviction rate.
Of those reported to authorities, most (87%) were reported by the victim, 96% were interviewed and provided a witness statement, but only 23% received a forensic medical examination, one of the lowest in the EU.[
]
Legal history
Discussion of rape has long been a taboo
A taboo or tabu is a social group's ban, prohibition, or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, sacred, or allowed only for certain persons.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...
in Germany, with victims, women's rights organizations
A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardl ...
, and politicians struggling for support on issues pertaining to sexual abuse and violence. There have been recent political discussions of reforming related laws so that they comply with the Istanbul convention
The Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence, better known as the Istanbul Convention, is a human rights treaty of the Council of Europe against violence against women and domestic v ...
, which requires all signatories to ensure that engaging in any non-consensual act of a sexual nature is criminalized.
Rape is generally reported to the police, although it is also allowed to be reported to the prosecutor or District Court.[ Many urban areas and states have specialist units for rape and sexual assault, but these efforts are not coordinated at the federal level, and the presence of such a unit is dependent on the finances of the area, and such units are absent in many rural areas.]
Because of the German statutory maximum sentences, the harshest punishment possible for rape is imprisonment for a period of 15 years. However, because it is not legally a form of punishment, courts may order "subsequent preventive detention" following the completion of a prison sentence for rape, in cases where the perpetrator suffers from a mental disorder, or would represent a serious danger to the public upon release. These may be of an indefinite period, subject to periodic reviews. Officials may also temporarily deny perpetrators access to the household without a court order, put them under a restraining order, and require them to pay damages.
The statute of limitations
A statute of limitations, known in civil law systems as a prescriptive period, is a law passed by a legislative body to set the maximum time after an event within which legal proceedings may be initiated. ("Time for commencing proceedings") In m ...
for severe sexual coercion is 20 years, and that for less serious cases is 10. In cases where the victim is a minor, this timeframe begins once the child turns 18 years-of-age.
Penal code of 1871
According to the German penal code established in 1871, the definition of rape was to compel "a woman to have extramarital intercourse...by force or the threat of present danger to life or limb," and was punishable by at least two years imprisonment. The law thus excluded any sexual contact between a married couple. Rape was grouped, along with sodomy
Sodomy () or buggery (British English) is generally anal or oral sex between people, or sexual activity between a person and a non-human animal ( bestiality), but it may also mean any non- procreative sexual activity. Originally, the term ''sodo ...
and incest
Incest ( ) is human sexual activity between family members or close relatives. This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by affinity (marriage or stepfamily), adoption ...
, as "crimes against personal honor, marriage, and the family." More extensive punishments were provided in cases where the victim (presumed to be female only) was younger than 16, in cases of gang rape, and in cases of "major physical violence".
Post-war legislation and 1973 reforms
The German penal code experienced a number of changes during the Nazi era
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
. Changes considered in keeping with Nazi philosophy were removed by the Allied Control Council
The Allied Control Council or Allied Control Authority (german: Alliierter Kontrollrat) and also referred to as the Four Powers (), was the governing body of the Allied Occupation Zones in Germany and Allied-occupied Austria after the end of Wo ...
during the re-establishment of Germany.
A 1966 ruling of the ''Bundesgerichtshof'' required married women to have sexual intercourse with their partners "repeatedly" and prescribed they must not be "unresponsive" during the consummation.
Between 1969 and 1974 the West German penal code was reformed by five different pieces of legislation. The fourth law for the reform of the penal code, dated 23 November 1973 (''Viertes Gesetz zur Reform des Strafrechts'' - 4. StrRG), introduced changes shifting the focus from violations of morality to violations against the individual.
1997 reforms
In 1997, a broader definition was adopted, making the law gender neutral, abolishing the marital exemption, recognizing sexual violence which did not include penetration, and expanding the definition of force to include psychological coercion. This was done through the 13th criminal amendment, section 177–179, which deals with sexual abuse. The 1997 reform (due to the ''Dreiunddreißigstes Strafrechtsänderungsgesetz'', 33rd law to change the penal code) created a new system by combining sexual assault and rape into one statue, with sexual assault as the "base" crime. Rape, which was now defined as involving penetration, was made into a subset of sexual assault, as a particularly serious form.
Reflecting the law's emphasis on the requirement for the use of force, a 2006 decision by the Federal Court of Justice of Germany
The Federal Court of Justice (german: Bundesgerichtshof, BGH) is the highest court in the system of ordinary jurisdiction (''ordentliche Gerichtsbarkeit'') in Germany, founded in 1950. It has its seat in Karlsruhe with two panels being situat ...
overturned a lower court's conviction for rape, on the grounds that the "accused ripped off the clothes from the body of the co-plaintiff and had sexual intercourse with her against her explicitly expressed will”, but had not “forced the victim with violence". According to a study performed in 2014, by an organization of women's counseling and rape crisis centers
Rape crisis centers in the United States, usually capitalized as Rape Crisis Center and often abbreviated as RCC, are community-based organizations affiliated with the anti-rape movement in the U.S. Rape crisis centers in other countries offer si ...
, out of 107 studied cases of rape, the majority of perpetrators were not prosecuted, because their actions fell outside the legal definition at the time.
1998 reforms
The Sixth Criminal Law Reform Act, passed in 1998 included a number of changes intended to harmonize sentencing for sexual, and non-sexual offenses, and generally resulted in increases in severity for sexual offenses. It also included provisions related to the protection of children, the disabled, the institutionalized, and drug addicts.
2002 Violence Protection Act
The 2002 Violence Protection Act (''Gewaltschutzgesetz)'' focussed broadly on all forms of domestic violence. While the previous assumption was that victims should leave their joint residence, the introduction of this law gave civil courts the power to serve orders on the perpetrator to vacate the residence.
2016 reforms
On 23 September 2016, the law was reformed again, with a new focus on lack of consent rather than resistance on the part of the victim. It broadened the legal definition to include "any sexual act that a victim declines through verbal or physical cues, whereas the previous law required the victim fight back," and other forms of non-consensual sexual contact, such as groping and fondling, were not illegal. The new law strengthened penalties for all perpetrators of sexual assault, mandated deportation for convicted migrants, and made it easier to prosecute assaults committed by large groups.
The law also provided equal punishment under the following circumstances, if the perpetrator:
# Exploits the fact that the person cannot consent
# Exploits the fact that the person is significantly impaired because of a physical or mental condition, unless there is prior consent
# Exploits an element of surprise
# Exploits a situation in which the victim is threatened with serious harm in case of resistance
# Coerces the person to actively engage in or tolerate sexual acts by threatening serious harm
Although the law dropped the previous requirement for the use of coercion or force by the perpetrator, it incorporated these elements as an aggravating factor
Aggravation, in law, is "any circumstance attending the commission of a crime or tort which increases its guilt or enormity or adds to its injurious consequences, but which is above and beyond the essential constituents of the crime or tort itself. ...
, along with situations where the victim is incapacitated due to disease or disability.
The changes followed a series of cases that sparked public outrage, and the popularity of the #NeinHeisstNein (no means no) campaign. These included the acquittal of two men charged with drugging and raping Gina-Lisa Lohfink
Gina-Lisa Lohfink (born 23 September 1986) is a German television and media personality.
Early life
Lohfink was born on 23 September 1986 in Seligenstadt, Hesse. After finishing school, she trained as a nurse and worked as a fitness trainer. ...
, and posting video of it online, a video in which "she reportedly says 'stop it' and 'no' as they force themselves on her". However, it is important to note that Lohfink was later convicted for falsely accusing the two men by a German court. It also followed the events of the 2015/2016 New Year's Eve, mainly in the city of Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...
, where hundreds of women were sexually assaulted, but through actions which, it was ultimately determined, were not illegal under the current law. Other high-profile cases included the 2016 murder of Maria Ladenburger
Maria Ladenburger (6 December 1996 – 16 October 2016) was a 19-year-old medical student from Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, who was found raped and drowned on 16 October 2016 in the river Dreisam. On 3 December 2016 ...
and 2018 killing of Susanna Feldmann
Susanna Maria Feldmann (born 2 November 2003) was a 14-year-old German girl who was raped and killed on the night of 22 May 2018 in Wiesbaden. Ali Bashar Ahmad Zebari, a 21-year-old asylum seeker from Iraqi Kurdistan, confessed to the murder and ...
, which gained attention because the attacks were carried out by immigrants.
Statutory rape
Consensual sex is legal from the age of 14 in most cases. There is an exception if the older partner is above the age of 18, and is “exploiting a coercive situation” or offering compensation, and the younger partner is under 16. It is also illegal for someone older than 21 to have sex with someone under the age of 16 if the older person “exploits the victim’s lack of capacity for sexual self-determination.”
Services for victims
Beginning in 1984, victims may access government funded legal services according to means test
A means test is a determination of whether an individual or family is eligible for government assistance or welfare, based upon whether the individual or family possesses the means to do without that help.
Canada
In Canada, means tests are use ...
ed eligibility criteria. More commonly, victims who cannot afford legal representation may be appointed a lawyer; however, prosecutors are obliged to pursue the case regardless of whether the victim is a party to the proceedings. Victims may also receive services from privately run ''Weisser Ring'' ("White Ring") victim support organizations, or ''Notruf'', "BIG" and ''Wildwasser'' rape crisis centers located throughout the country. Representatives from these organizations may accompany the victims in filing reports, during interviews, and throughout legal proceedings.
See also
* Estimates of sexual violence
* Initiatives to prevent sexual violence
* Post-assault treatment of sexual assault victims
After a sexual assault or rape, victims are often subjected to scrutiny and, in some cases, mistreatment. Victims undergo medical examinations and are interviewed by police. If there is a criminal trial, victims suffer a loss of privacy and ...
* Rape by gender
Rape by gender classifies types of rape by the sex and/or gender of both the rapist and the victim. This scope includes both rape and sexual assault more generally. Most research indicates that rape affects women disproportionately, with the majo ...
* Rape in France
In France, rape is illegal, and marital rape is also illegal. In recent years there has been increase of reported rape cases in France.
Studies
Rape has been documented across French history. Georges Vigarello in his 2001 book writes about the hi ...
* Rape in Sweden
Rape in Sweden has a legal definition described in Chapter 6 in the Swedish Penal Code. Historically, rape has been defined as forced sexual intercourse initiated against a woman or man by one or several people, without consent. In recent years, s ...
* Rape of males
A proportion of victims of rape or other sexual violence incidents are male. Historically, rape was thought to be, and defined as, a crime committed solely against females. This belief is still held in some parts of the world, but rape of males ...
* Rape statistics
Statistics on rape and other sexual assaults are commonly available in industrialized countries, and have become better documented throughout the world. Inconsistent definitions of rape, different rates of reporting, recording, prosecution and ...
* Violence against women
Violence against women (VAW), also known as gender-based violence and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), are violent acts primarily or exclusively committed against women or girls, usually by men or boys. Such violence is often consi ...
* Women's rights
Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...
Notes
References
External links
*
*
{{Rapefooter, state=collapsed
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...