Yesterday, 17 June 2020, following an invitation, I took part in the debate in the Parliamentary Committee on Legal Affairs on the need to modernise the definition of rape in the Penal Code.
The debate took place on the occasion of a proposal for a law tabled by the ACPL Parliamentary Group and in particular by the Member of Parliament, Aristos Damianou.
As it stands, the Penal Code defines rape only as an offence against a woman, namely:
144. Anyone who enters into unlawful intercourse with a woman, without the consent of the victim or with her consent if the consent to it was given under the State of violence or fear of bodily harm or in the case of a married woman, with the impersonation of her husband, is guilty of a felony called rape.
Apart from the fact that the definition, as it stands, degrades the woman, does not make any reference to the rape of a man or other person. Reference to "indecent" attacks on men is, however, made in another article of the Penal Code, but that is not enough.
The debate referred to the definition used in the Istanbul Convention on gender-based violence. The Convention has been ratified by Cyprus by legislation in 2017.
This was a very good opportunity to open the debate on this issue and was welcomed by all parties and guests. The Justice Department has now been given two weeks to formally submit its views.
For this particular reason, I also intend to proceed with a written statement of my positions.