Experts call for stricter sex crime law in Netherlands

As more European countries are implementing laws under which sex without explicit consent is considered rape, calls are sounding in the Netherlands to introduce a similar law.

Sweden implemented a law on July 1st which states that you have to ask permission before having sex. If the other person does not give explicit permission, you can be convicted of rape. Earlier this week Spain announced that it will soon introduce a similar law.

Experts are now calling or the same legislation in the Netherlands, RTL Nieuws reports. According to knowledge institution Rutgers, the current law, which states that someone is guilty of rape if the other person is forced to have sex, does not go far enough. Often a rape victim is paralyzed by fear and can not resist. Then there seems to be no coercion, while the victim was raped. A stricter sex crime law could be a solution for such cases.

"Sex is an activity in which everyone wants to participate", gender expert Janneke Stegeman said to newspaper AD. "If that is not the case, then it is not sex."

The government is currently working on a new sex crime law. It is not yet clear whether this law will define rape as sex without explicit consent.