The most comprehensive compilation of information on the status of
women in the world.

Latest items for LRW-LAW-1

Dec. 13, 2024, 3:43 p.m.
Countries: India
Variables: LRW-LAW-1

"But under new Indian legislation on rape, men who lure women into sex with the promise of marriage face 10 years in prison. In July, India’s government updated its colonial era laws on rape, introducing rules around relationships engaged in on false pretences in Section 69 of the reform" (para 10-11).
Dec. 13, 2024, 3:35 p.m.
Countries: India
Variables: LRW-LAW-1, LRW-LAW-2

"The government has introduced three bills in parliament that it says will provide a special focus on crimes against women and address the intolerable delays in the system which can leave people waiting 15-30 years for a verdict. But some lawyers have called the new focus on crimes against women 'old wine in new bottles' in that the provisions remain broadly similar. Gang rape will attract a 20-year jail sentence or life in jail which is what the current law provides for. The act of obtaining sex by promising marriage to a woman will be treated as a crime for the first time and will carry a 10-year sentence. The...more
Dec. 6, 2024, 8:36 p.m.
Countries: Spain
Variables: LRW-LAW-1

"The legislation, popularly known as the 'only yes means yes' law, came into effect last October. It overhauled the criminal code by making sexual consent – or lack of it – key in determining assault cases, in an effort to define all non-consensual sex as rape. The law dropped the lesser charge of sexual abuse and classed all violations as sexual assault, which carries stiffer penalties. It also cut the minimum and maximum jail sentences, however, leading to some offenders having their terms reduced on appeal" (para 2-3). "In making consent the deciding factor, the new law also states that passivity and silence can no longer be interpreted as consent,...more
Dec. 6, 2024, 6:17 p.m.
Countries: Nepal
Variables: LRW-LAW-1

"In a recently released judgement, the Supreme Court of Nepal held that an adult man who had married a minor female and engaged in sexual intercourse was not guilty of rape or kidnapping, but only of child marriage. The top court overturned a high court verdict that had imposed an 11-year jail term on the man. Instead, the Supreme Court reduced his prison term to six months with a fine of 10,000 Nepali rupees ($75). This is a dangerous decision because it dramatically dilutes the concept of statutory rape, under which an adult indulging in sexual intercourse with a minor is guilty of rape, irrespective of whether the act was...more
Dec. 6, 2024, 10:43 a.m.
Countries: Brazil
Variables: LRW-PRACTICE-2, LRW-LAW-1

"Marisa Sanematsu of the Patricia Galvão institute, a women’s rights organisation, said she believed more victims were speaking out amid a growing awareness of legal protections and increasing intolerance of behaviour such as sexual harassment, which was made a crime in 2018" (para 10).
Dec. 6, 2024, 10:09 a.m.
Countries: Japan
Variables: LRW-LAW-1

"In February, the Japanese government approved a bill to raise the age of sexual consent from 13 to 16, as part of reforms to the country's sexual violence penal code" (para 37). "'I know [the age of consent] is about to change to 16 but... the fact it stayed at 13 for this long is a big problem'" (para 40).
Dec. 5, 2024, 4:37 p.m.
Countries: Norway
Variables: LRW-LAW-1

"The Committee welcomes the…amendment to expand the duty to avert a criminal offence, which is subject to penalties, to encompass...aggravated sexual activity with children between the ages of 14 and 16, in 2020" (2). "The definition of rape in section 291 of the Penal Code is still based on the use of force or threat by the perpetrator rather than the absence of consent" (7).
Dec. 4, 2024, 4:49 p.m.
Countries: Spain
Variables: LRW-LAW-1

"The age of consent in Spain is 16, meaning anyone younger cannot consent to sex. However, the court ruled that the man should benefit from the legal exception" (par. 7).
Dec. 4, 2024, 4:47 p.m.
Countries: Denmark
Variables: LRW-LAW-1

"The legal age of consent is 15 years old in Denmark, and government officials wanted its abortion policy to align with this law, according to reports" (par. 2).
Nov. 29, 2024, 3:17 p.m.
Countries: Japan
Variables: LRW-LAW-1

“But the glaring dangers of this spiralling industry became increasingly urgent in 2022 when Japan lowered its age of adulthood from 20 to 18 - meaning that teenagers could more simply get swept up into the sick porn world” (para 5). “Additionally, the law makes it, in principle, illegal to force people to take part in sex acts in front of the camera. Members of PAPS, who had sought to have the legislation put in place, called the law 'groundbreaking' at the time and Ito said: 'Compared to the hellish situation before where there was no recourse for victims, this is really a valuable step forward. 'It's a law giving...more
Nov. 16, 2024, 9:46 p.m.
Countries: Taiwan
Variables: LRW-LAW-1, ERBG-LAW-2

"On July 13, Taiwan’s cabinet proposed harsher penalties for perpetrators of sexual harassment and increased support for survivors under the three existing gender equality laws" (para 5).
Nov. 16, 2024, 4:02 p.m.
Countries: India
Variables: LRW-LAW-1

"There was the young physiotherapy student who in 2012 was beaten and raped on a moving bus and penetrated with a metal rod that perforated her colon before her naked body was dumped on a busy road in New Delhi. She died of her injuries. Women protested for days, and even men took part, facing water cannons and tear gas. New anti-rape laws were framed" (Para 15). (Even though new laws have been formed there hasn't been proper implementation of the laws and neither the laws have been effective UST - CODERS COMMENT)
Nov. 12, 2024, 2:41 p.m.
Countries: United Kingdom
Variables: LRW-LAW-1, EWCMS-LAW-5

"Sandhurst [the training center for prospective Royal Army officers] is plagued by a ‘toxic culture’ of sexual assault as hundreds of women report abuse during service training, it was alleged last night...Over two decades, 177 women have sought help after suffering abuse at officer training site Sandhurst, it said...An MoD spokesman told The Daily Telegraph that ‘anyone found guilty will face the full weight of the law and immediate dismissal’. The spokesman said: ‘Any allegation of sexual assault reported will be investigated and anyone found guilty will face the full weight of the law and immediate dismissal. ‘The Defence Secretary is bidding for new legislation that would make it a...more
Nov. 12, 2024, 1:32 p.m.
Countries: Latvia
Variables: LRW-LAW-1

"The Committee welcomes the progress achieved...in particular the adoption of the following…[s]trengthening protection against gender-based violence against women and girls, including sexual violence and domestic violence…[and] amendments to the Criminal Procedure Law aimed at facilitating the involvement of victims, including victims of gender-based violence against women, in criminal proceedings and introducing ex officio prosecution of rape, sexual violence and deliberate slight bodily injury, as well as a new category of 'specially protected victims', including children, victims of sexual or domestic violence or intimate partner violence and victims of trafficking, in 2016" (1-2).
Oct. 18, 2024, 10:24 a.m.
Countries: Australia
Variables: LRW-LAW-1

"Non-consensually removing a condom during sex — an act known as 'stealthing' — is set to be criminalised in South Australia, with those found guilty facing penalties of up to life imprisonment. A bill to outlaw the practice, reportedly committed against one in three women, yesterday passed SA parliament's upper house, and is now set to pass the lower house with government support. SA Best MP Connie Bonaros described stealthing as a 'repugnant and disgusting act of betrayal', and said her private member's bill would ensure it was dealt with appropriately by police and the courts... 'Under the new legislation, the removal of a condom during sex without the consent...more
Oct. 16, 2024, 3:14 p.m.
Countries: India
Variables: LRW-LAW-1

"There was the young physiotherapy student who in 2012 was beaten and raped on a moving bus and penetrated with a metal rod that perforated her colon before her naked body was dumped on a busy road in New Delhi. She died of her injuries. Women protested for days, and even men took part, facing water cannons and tear gas. New anti-rape laws were framed" (Para 15). (Even though new laws have been formed there hasn't been proper implementation of the laws and neither the laws have been effective UST - CODERS COMMENT)
Oct. 9, 2024, 7:59 p.m.
Countries: Belize
Variables: LRW-LAW-1

"As mentioned before, with the 2013 Criminal Code amendment, penalties for sexual crimes committed against children increased, a wider range of sexual crimes was listed" (25).
July 18, 2024, 6:38 p.m.
Countries: Guatemala
Variables: LRW-LAW-1

"Women deputies introduced bill No. 5511 in the Congress of the Republic of Guatemala. The bill provides for the approval of a framework Act on the comprehensive protection of girls who are victims of sexual violence. Its purpose is to establish norms and mechanisms that govern the comprehensive protection of girls who are victims of sexual violence" (7).
April 9, 2024, 10:14 p.m.
Countries: China, France, Germany, South Korea, United Kingdom
Variables: LRW-LAW-1

"The age of consent is 16 in Britain and South Korea, 15 in France, and 14 in Germany and China" (para 5).
April 9, 2024, 10:09 p.m.
Countries: Japan
Variables: LRW-LAW-1

"A Japanese justice ministry panel on Friday proposed raising the country's age of consent, currently among the world's lowest at just 13, as part of a major overhaul of sex crime legislation. The move to raise the age of consent to 16 is part of a package of reforms that would also clarify rape prosecution requirements and criminalise voyeurism" (para 1-2). "Japan's age of consent, the lowest among the G7 industrialised nations, has stayed unchanged since its enactment in 1907" (para 4). "Under current Japanese law, children at least 13 years old are considered capable of consent, meaning sexual activity with them is not considered statutory rape" (para 9). "This...more
March 15, 2024, 2:30 p.m.
Countries: Gabon
Variables: LRW-LAW-1

"[I]n the absence of specific legislation, the Penal Code establishes penalties for rape" (10).
Feb. 20, 2024, 9:55 a.m.
Countries: Qatar
Variables: LRW-LAW-1

"The country’s penal code also criminalises sex outside marriage. Police often do not believe women who report sexual violence, says Rothna Begum, a senior women’s rights researcher at Human Rights Watch, instead siding with men who claim it was consensual, which can lead to the survivor facing charges" (para 25). "A Qatari official said anyone who came forward with a complaint would be supported and their complaint fully investigated: 'Qatari law prioritizes the safety and wellbeing of all women. Assault is criminalized under the penal code, and access to justice is a guaranteed right for everyone through the Qatari court system. Female foreign residents play an important role in Qatar’s...more
Feb. 5, 2024, 1:29 p.m.
Countries: Central African Rep
Variables: LRW-LAW-1, GEW-LAW-1

"In convicting one perpetrator based on his responsibility for rapes committed by his subordinates, the Court concluded that the rapes in this case constituted crimes against humanity and war crimes. This holding brings vital recognition to the women who suffered these horrendous crimes, some of whom were minors at the time, and to survivors of gender-based violence in the conflict more broadly" (para 3).
Feb. 4, 2024, 5:28 p.m.
Countries: Spain
Variables: LRW-LAW-1

"Spain’s 'only yes means yes' law – which was brought in following widespread anger over the 'wolfpack' gang-rape in Pamplona in 2016 – has made consent a key factor in sexual assault cases" (para 12). "But it has also revised the scope of potential minimum and maximum prison sentences, allowing some convicted sex offenders to appeal against their sentences and have them reduced. By the end of December, 129 convicted offenders had benefited from the sentencing changes" (para 13).
Jan. 22, 2024, 6:54 p.m.
Countries: United States
Variables: LRW-LAW-1

"Under federal law, any sexual contact between a prison employee and a prisoner is illegal, even if it would be considered consensual outside the system. Guards at Coleman, when confronted with evidence that they had sex with female inmates, admitted that they were worried about being charged with a crime in affidavits made public by the subcommittee on Tuesday" (para 18).
Jan. 16, 2024, 6:33 p.m.
Countries: Botswana
Variables: LRW-LAW-1

"The Domestic Violence Act, 2008 abolishes spousal exclusion in rape cases . . . Moreover, it eliminated the common law spousal exclusion." (15). "[T]he Government acknowledges that currently there is no specific legislation that addresses sexual abuse" (15). "In terms of Section 45 of the Interpretation (Amendment) Act, 2013 the legal age of majority in Botswana is 18 years irrespective of sex. This effectively accords any such person locus standi to act in his/her name without any parental consent, save for persons who have been mentally incapacitated" (21).
Nov. 6, 2023, 11:49 p.m.
Countries: China
Variables: LRW-LAW-1, LRW-LAW-2

"[Amendment IX to the Criminal Law of the People’s Republic of China, adopted in August 2015] abolished the crime of soliciting underage prostitutes. All such criminal acts are considered rape and will receive severe punishment." (7).
Nov. 3, 2023, 11:41 a.m.
Countries: South Korea
Variables: LRW-LAW-1

“Upon entering office, President Yoon scrapped government gender quotas, declaring people would be hired on merit, not sex. He appointed just three women to his 19-member cabinet. He is now trying to abolish the government's Gender Equality Ministry, which supports women and victims of sexual assault, claiming it is obsolete. More than 800 organisations have come together to protest against the closure, arguing it could have a damaging impact on women's lives” (para 10). The presence of the gender equality ministry indicates that there are laws against rape and sexual assault (ET - CODER COMMENT).
Sept. 30, 2023, 4 p.m.
Countries: Kazakhstan
Variables: LRW-LAW-1

"The Committee notes the 2014 amendments to the law on domestic violence of 2009 that provide for restraining and protection orders and social assistance to victims of domestic violence. It also takes note of the State party’s intention to adopt the bill on countering domestic violence and to ratify the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence. However, the Committee notes with concern the following: The lack of revision of the definition of rape (art. 120 of the Criminal Code), which continues to be based on penetrative vaginal intercourse and requires the element of violence or threat of violence rather than the lack...more
Sept. 25, 2023, 8:02 a.m.
Countries: Guyana
Variables: LRW-LAW-1

"The age of sexual consent is 16. By law a person who has sexual relations with a child younger than 16 may be found guilty of a felony and imprisoned for life" (9).