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The lower house of Switzerland’s parliament voted on Monday to sharply expand the country’s limited definition of rape to include all non-consensual sex, but it is a long way from changing the law.
Switzerland generally believes that its current rape laws need to be adjusted.
Under today’s law, only forced vaginal penetration is considered rape if the woman resists to some extent.
It is widely believed that the definition of rape should be broadened to include all non-consensual penetration, regardless of the gender of the victim and whether or not they fought back.
But there has been fierce debate in Switzerland about how to measure consent, with some advocating a “no is no” approach, whereby if a person expressly disagrees, it is considered rape.
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The upper house of parliament, the Council of State, voted in favor of the practice earlier this year – but when the lower National Assembly voted on Monday, it opted for a more radical shift requiring explicit consent to sexual activity.
The “yes and that” option narrowly passed with 99 votes in favour, 88 against and 3 abstentions.
Emotions ran high during Monday’s debate.
“It’s clear that you don’t take money from your neighbor’s wallet without asking. It’s clear that you don’t enter someone’s house without ringing the doorbell,” Socialist MP Tamara Funiciello told the House news agency, ATS reported.
“Why is my wallet and home more protected than my body?” she asked.
Greens MP Rafael Mahaim agreed, insisting that “the other side’s body is never an open bar”.
But many right-wing lawmakers opposed the option, insisting it would be confusing and difficult to implement.
Amnesty International hailed the vote as “a huge success after years of activism for the rights of women and victims of sexual abuse”.
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But the two chambers now need to reach an agreement before moving forward with the process.
Once that happens, the matter is likely to go to a referendum under Switzerland’s direct democracy system.
Several other European countries have struggled to define rape as sex without explicit consent, including Spain, Sweden, Denmark and Belgium.
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