Finland to change law to recognise sex without consent as rape

Finland is to tighten its laws to ensure sex without consent or with children is always punishable as rape.

The government announced the proposed changes after 57,000 people signed a petition calling for sexual offence legislation to be revamped.

The country’s Nordic neighour, Sweden, passed a similar law last year.

Campaigners in Finland welcomed the move and said the #MeToo movement had prompted “a big change in the conversation” about consent.

“The main victory is the tone of the debate around the issue,” said Hanna-Marilla Zidan, who had proposed the law changes through a citizen’s initiative – a European Union mechanism through which people can put forward legislative ideas.

Speaking to Yle, Finland’s national broadcaster, she added: “It’s important because the law sends a message to society about what’s okay and what isn’t. It’s about improving things for victims but also about the message the law sends – consent is not a grey area legally.”

Finland’s justice department has appointed a working group to hand detailed proposals to parliament after the next election in April.

The changes will also ensure sex with minors is always classed as rape.

It follows an outcry over a case in which a man who sexually abused a 10-year-old girl could not be charged with rape under Finnish law.

Prosecutors appealed unsuccesfully last year for a higher sentence after the 21-year-old was jailed for three years for aggravated sexual abuse in 2016.

A spate of alleged sexual assaults by migrant men also prompted calls from right-wing MPs to allow authorities to deport foreigners convicted of sex crimes.

But Finland’s justice minister Antti Hakkanen stressed amendments to the law would be made under careful consideration, “not by reading incendiary headlines on social media and making rapid changes”.