New sex crime legislation treats online and offline equally

New legislation which will make it a crime to intimidate people sexually in public places, including social media, and which will make it easier to prosecute rape cases, will come into effect on July 1, justice minister Dilan Yesilgöz said on Wednesday.

The new legislation removes the need to prove the attacker used force in rape cases and removes rape from the statute of limitations, so cases can still be prosecuted, no matter how long ago they took place.

The law also makes it a criminal offence to approach children online and have conversations of a sexual nature with them – a crime known as sexchatting.

“This law sets a clear standard,” Yesilgöz said. “Sex should always be consensual and between equals. Someone is committing an offence if they knew, or should have known, the other did not want it but continues anyway. The current legislation on sexual violence no longer covers what we as a society consider to be acceptable and what not.”

Some 25,000 police officers need to undergo special training before the law can come into effect, as will 250 public prosecution department officials, she told MPs.

The new legislation aims to treat sexual violence and abuse equally whether it takes place online or off.

Some sentences are also being increased. For example, the rape of a child under the age of 12 will carry a maximum jail term of 15 years.

The senate voted in favour of the legislation earlier this week.