It’s a head scraper, okay. British readers can even go so far as to ask whether Save the Children, the Danish branch of Save the Children, is named after the marks left behind.
Until yesterday, sexual intercourse with a child of 12, 13 or 14 years was only classified as sex with a minor, with a maximum penalty of eight years in prison.
But in many cases, adult perpetrators got away with a mild punishment if they could prove they had a meaningful relationship with the child.
The law was too lenient
Two years ago, for example, a 32-year-old male schoolteacher was sentenced to just two years for having a sexual relationship with a 13-year-old girl.
The teacher was acquitted of rape on the grounds that the girl voluntarily joined. Instead, he was convicted of assaulting a minor.
Sometimes they get completely free. – We have seen too many cases where adult perpetrators are acquitted of having abused children on the grounds that the child has participated voluntarily in a ‘boyfriend-like relationship’, says Save the Children psychologist Ane Lemche to DR.
Now treated as rape
But from today, after the unanimous support of the Folketing, sexual intercourse with a child under the age of 15 will be classified as rape – the same as sex with anyone under the age of 12.
The maximum penalty for such an offense is 12 years in prison, and most importantly, it makes it absolutely illegal for a child aged 12-14 to give consent to have sex with an adult.
However, should the perpetrator be under the age of 22, the law is more lenient.
Psychologist: children blamed themselves
According to Lemche, the new law is long overdue.
“Children cannot consent to sex with an adult because they cannot see what it means to be sexually active with an adult, and it is extremely difficult for a child to say no,” she said.
‘It is completely unreasonable to place that responsibility on a child when it comes to a sexual assault. The criminal law change makes it clear to the child that it is not the child’s fault, but the adult who has done something wrong. ”
Other laws passed
The new bill, which the Folketing has passed, has also introduced a number of other laws.
Sex dolls of children have been banned and the police have been given more powers to conduct secret searches in cases of child pornography.
Adults will face stricter penalties for child abuse – a 50 percent increase – and authorities now have the power to confiscate the passports of anyone convicted of sexually abusing children.
Source: The Nordic Page