WUNRN
EPACVAW - European Policy
Action Center on Violence Against Women
Council of Europe Takes a Strong
Position on Rape, Including Marital Rape
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has adopted both Resolution 1691 (2009) and Recommendation 1887 (2009) on the rape of women, including marital rape in September 2009. Both texts underline the fact that rape is an unacceptable violation of women’s rights and dignity, as well as a most serious crime.
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Resolution
1691 (2009)1
Rape
of women, including marital rape
1. Every
year, millions of women are raped by their husbands, partners or ex-partners,
male relatives or acquaintances, or complete strangers. However, most of these
rapes are not reported and the perpetrators go unpunished.
2. Rape is
a serious violation of women’s physical and psychological integrity and also of
the right to freedom, safety and dignity enjoyed by all human beings.
3.
Unfortunately, the extremely low level of reporting of rape is matched by a
very high rate of attrition and an extremely low level of conviction –
especially, but not only, for marital rape. This is due to several factors,
including:
3.1.
widespread attitudes to rape and sexual assault which tend to shift the blame
from the attacker to the victim and undermine the latter’s credibility
(attitudes widespread also amongst the members of the police, the legal
profession, public prosecutors and the judiciary);
3.2.
unreformed rape legislation which requires the victim to have physically
resisted her attacker to initiate proceedings, and/or makes it possible for the
most intimate details of the victim’s private life to be exposed in court;
3.3. a
lack of support for, assistance to and protection of the victim.
4. It
needs to be made clear that any woman can be raped, but no woman deserves to be
raped, and that consent is necessary for sexual intercourse every time,
whatever the relationship of the victim with the rapist. Only then will more
rapes be reported to the authorities and will more rapists actually be
convicted of their crimes. There is no excuse for rape. Lesbians and bisexual
and transgender women need particular protection in this regard as they face
sexual violence both on the account of their sex and their sexual orientation.
5. The
Parliamentary Assembly thus recommends that Council of Europe member states:
5.1. fully
implement the recommendations on sexual violence and rape contained in the
Committee of Ministers Recommendation Rec(2002)5 on the protection of women
against violence, as well as the recommendations contained in Assembly
Recommendation 1777
(2007) on sexual assaults linked to “date-rape drugs”, and in Assembly
Resolution 1670
and
Recommendation 1873
(2009) on sexual violence against women in armed conflict;
5.2.
ensure that their legislation on rape and sexual violence reaches the highest
possible standard, ensuring that rape is defined in essence by the absence of
consent or the absence of the choice to consent by the victim, and avoiding a
“re-victimisation” of the victim by the criminal justice system; legislation
should thus, as a minimum:
5.2.1.
make rape, including marital rape, an ex officio crime;
5.2.2.
define consent as agreement by choice when having the freedom and capacity to
make that choice;
5.2.3. not
require that victims physically resist their attacker;
5.2.4.
have prosecutors make all discontinuance decisions and give the victims the
right to challenge such decisions;
5.2.5.
allow victims to be a party to the case in court;
5.2.6.
protect victims’ private lives, especially in court;
5.2.7.
allow evidence gathered in pre-trial proceedings to be used when the victim
avails herself of her right to refuse to testify once in court;
5.2.8.
establish procedures to ensure victim and witness safety, where the victim or
witness is facing threats or intimidation;
5.2.9.
give victims a legal right to advice and support throughout the process;
5.3.
establish marital rape as a separate offence under their domestic law so as to
avoid any hindrance of legal proceedings, if they have not already done so;
5.4.
penalise sexual violence and rape between spouses, cohabitant partners and
ex-partners, if they have not already done so; and consider whether the
attacker’s current or former close relationship with the victim should be an
aggravating circumstance;
5.5.
consider instituting compensation for the victims, if they have not already
done so;
5.6.
develop a comprehensive strategy which should comprise measures to prevent rape
in the first place, by empowering girls and women not to be victims and
teaching boys and men to respect women, as well as to ensure (securely funded)
protection of and assistance to rape victims at every step of the proceedings;
5.7.
develop compulsory training programmes for police officers, judicial, medical
and forensic personnel, social workers and teachers so as to enable them to
identify cases of rape and sexual violence, and, in particular, of marital
rape, and to enable them to advise and assist the victims more effectively and
consistently.
1. Assembly debate on 2 October 2009 (35th Sitting) (see Doc. 12013, report of the Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men, rapporteur: Mrs Rupprecht). Text adopted by the Assembly on 2 October 2009 (35th Sitting). See also Recommendation 1887 (2009).
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http://assembly.coe.int/Main.asp?link=/Documents/AdoptedText/ta09/EREC1887.htm
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Recommendation 1887 (2009)1
Rape of women, including marital rape
1. The Parliamentary Assembly refers to its
Resolution 1691 (2009) on rape of women, including marital
rape, which underlines that rape is an unacceptable violation of women’s rights
and dignity, as well as a most serious crime.
2. The Assembly believes that the fight against rape needs to be stepped up and thus recommends that the Committee of Ministers ask its member states to:
2.1. fully implement the recommendations on sexual violence and rape contained in the Committee of Ministers Recommendation Rec(2002)5 on the protection of women against violence, as well as the recommendations contained in Assembly Recommendation 1777 (2007) on sexual assaults linked to “date-rape drugs”, in Resolution 1670 and Recommendation 1873 (2009) on sexual violence against women in armed conflict, and in Resolution 1691 (2009) on rape of women, including marital rape;
2.2. ensure that their legislation on rape and sexual violence reaches the highest possible standard, and avoids a “re-victimisation” of the victim by the criminal justice system;
2.3. establish marital rape as a separate offence under their domestic law, if they have not already done so, in order to avoid any hindrance to legal proceedings;
2.4. develop a comprehensive strategy which should comprise measures to prevent rape in the first place, as well as to ensure (securely funded) protection of and assistance to rape victims at every step of the proceedings, including possible compensation for the victims.
3. The Assembly calls on the Committee of Ministers to instruct the Ad hoc Committee on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (CAHVIO) to include in the future Council of Europe convention the severest and most widespread forms of violence against women, including rape and sexual assault.
4. The Assembly believes that widespread public attitudes to rape and sexual assault which tend to shift the blame from the attacker to the victim are among the highest obstacles to the reporting, effective investigation and prosecution of cases of rape and sexual assault. It thus recommends that the Committee of Ministers launch a Council of Europe campaign to change those attitudes, possibly in the framework of the promotion of the future Council of Europe convention, and encourage member states to concomitantly launch national campaigns.
1. Assembly debate on 2 October 2009 (35th Sitting) (see Doc. 12013, report of the Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men, rapporteur: Mrs Rupprecht). Text adopted by the Assembly on 2 October 2009 (35th Sitting).
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