Foreign Affairs

Swedish Law Requires Spoken Consent To Curtail Rape

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A new Swedish law now requires spoken consent to curtail rape, according to a report by the Daily Mail Friday.

Swedish politicians voted 257 to 38 on a new law to make it a requirement that people give a spoken confirmation before engaging in sexual activity, the Daily Mail reported. This new law will go into effect July 1, which will allow prosecutors to allege that a victim was raped without having to prove that he or she was abused under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

“If a person wants to engage in sexual activities with someone who remains inactive or gives ambiguous signals, he or she will, therefore, have to find out if the other person is willing,” the new law states.

This law also establishes two new charges of negligent rape and negligent sexual abuse, which if convicted, the assaulter can face up to four years in prison. Sweden is the seventh country to pass legislation that requires spoken consent.

The Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention reported that there were 6,563 reported rapes in 2016, according to the BBC.