THE NETHERLANDS -The Dutch government plans to bring in new legislation to criminalise having sex with someone against their will. Going beyond criminalising sex with violence such as rape and sexual assault, the new legislation will make it illegal to have sex with someone while knowing they are unwilling. ‘No means no, but no “no” does not necessarily mean “yes”,’ Justice minister FerdGrapperhaus said.
The legislation will also make sexual intimidation online and in public a criminal offence. ‘Insults, humiliation and physical groping is not normal behaviour,’ Grapperhaus said. Rotterdam and Amsterdam have already incorporated rules against street intimidation into their bylaws. In the coming months, Grapperhaus said he will research how the new law can best be implemented and policed and definitive legislation will be drawn up by the end of the year.
