Short duration of rape can result in shorter sentence, says Swiss court
In 2021, the Basel Court of Appeal reduced the sentence for a rapist and justified this by stating, among other things, that the crime had only lasted eleven minutes. This led to widespread protests.
Keystone / Georgios Kefalas
According to the Federal Court, the relatively short duration of a rape – 11 minutes in this particular case – can play a role in determining the sentence of a perpetrator.
This content was published on
3 minutes
SRF
Español
es
La corta duración de una violación puede dar lugar a una condena menor, según un tribunal suizo
In 2021, the Basel Court of Appeal reduced the sentence for a rapist and justified this by stating, among other things, that the crime had only lasted 11 minutes. In addition, the victim had sent out the wrong signals before the crime. The court’s decision led to protests in several cities. Around 500 people gathered in front of the court in Basel and held their arms up in silence for 11 minutes – as long as the rape had lasted.
The case concerns a woman who had gone out in Basel in February 2020. In the toilet of a bar, she engaged in voluntary sexual acts with a man. Later, on her way home, she was raped by two other men in the entrance to her house. The perpetrators were 17 and 33 years old.
In a decision published on Wednesday, the Federal Court ruled that the relatively short duration of the rape should be taken into account in the sentence. The decision has angered some people. “This case is particularly serious and in this respect I don’t think the duration of the rape should play a role,” parliamentarian and lawyer Barbara Steinemann told Swiss public television, SRF.
The Federal Court did argue that the perpetrator should be punished more severely than the Basel court verdict for other reasons. The fact that the victim had previously voluntarily engaged in unprotected sexual acts with another man should not be considered when sentencing the perpetrator.
“I completely agree with the Federal Court that a perhaps not entirely impeccable lifestyle should not be taken into account to mitigate the punishment,” says Steinemann. How a victim behaves should not play a role. As a result, the case goes back to the lower court, which has to impose a higher sentence.
What will happen to the second perpetrator is still open: The Basel City Juvenile Court has acquitted him in case of doubt for the accused. An appeal against this verdict is pending before the Basel City Court of Appeal. As a Federal Court judgment has now been passed on the co-perpetrator, the Court of Appeal will probably decide on the case soon.
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles. You can find them here.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
External Content
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Almost finished… We need to confirm your email address. To complete the subscription process, please click the link in the email we just sent you.
Bodycams: essential for good law enforcement, or a privacy risk?
Did you ever come across bodycams in your place of residence and if so, how do you think the use of bodycams alter the relationship between the public and (transport) police?
What can be done to protect biodiversity in your country?
Swiss voters are set to decide on a people’s initiative calling for better protection of ecosystems in the country. Have your say on the September 22 vote.
Nestle Chair says CEO change was prompted by growth concerns
This content was published on
The abrupt replacement of Nestle SA’s chief executive officer was prompted by worries over the food and beverage company’s growth outlook, Nestlé Chair Paul Bulcke told Swiss newspaper Le Temps.
Four out of five donor hearts for Swiss children come from abroad
This content was published on
Four out of five donor hearts which are transplanted into Swiss children come from outside the Alpine country, according to the director of Swisstransplant.
Climber dies on the Matterhorn in southern Switzerland
This content was published on
A climber died on Thursday after falling with a partner while descending the Matterhorn, near Zermatt, in southern Switzerland. The other mountaineer suffered minor injuries.
This content was published on
The Dalai Lama has arrived in Switzerland for a short visit. Hundreds of Tibetans welcomed him at an airport hotel in Opfikon, near Zurich, on Friday.
Sudan: Swiss among mediators calling for continuous flow of aid
This content was published on
The seven parties, including Switzerland, who led ten days of talks on Sudan in the Geneva region, are calling for the new flow of aid to “continue and accelerate”.
Coo d’état: Basel struggles to enforce pigeon-feeding ban
This content was published on
Police in the Swiss canton of Basel City have issued only eight fines since the ban on pigeon feeding came into force in July 2020.
Nestlé CEO Schneider was ousted, paving way for veteran Freixe, sources say
This content was published on
Nestlé CEO Mark Schneider was ousted in a sudden move by the world’s biggest foodmaker as a result of the group’s underperformance.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.