Deputies debate whether rape should be a public crime

MPs are discussing this Thursday whether rape should be a public crime, allowing anyone to report it and not just the victim, less than a year after the issue was debated in parliament.

The debate was scheduled by the Left Bloc (BE), which is presenting a bill in that sense, as well as PAN, Chega and Livre.

The BE project “establishes the crimes of rape , sexual coercion and sexual abuse of a person incapable of resistance as public crimes”, which requires changes to the Penal and Criminal Procedure Codes, as well as the victim's status.

The PAN, in addition to a similar project, proposes in another the extension of the “prescription periods for crimes against the freedom and sexual self-determination of minors and the deadlines for reporting crimes against freedom and sexual self-determination” and the elimination of the “possibility of provisional suspension of the process in the context of crimes against freedom and sexual self-determination and the crime of domestic violence”.

In terms of deadlines, it argues in the first case that, in crimes against the freedom and sexual self-determination of minors, as well as in the crime of female genital mutilation where the victim is a minor, the criminal proceedings do not expire before the victim turns 30 years old , while in the second case it proposes extending it to 15 years , considering that “the majority of victims are not emotionally prepared nor do they have the necessary conditions to do so (complain) within the legally established 12-month period”.

Chega's proposal calls for the crime of rape to be given a "public nature" and for "situations of revictimization" or additional suffering to be avoided, ensuring "the possibility of provisional suspension of the process at the victim's request , similar to what happens in the case of domestic violence" and guaranteeing "the right of rape victims to be able to choose the gender of the person who will carry out the forensic examination."

Livre proposes changes seeking to “promote an approach of collective accountability for combating crimes against sexual freedom and self-determination”, facilitate their reporting, guarantee “respect for the privacy and individual interests of victims and prevent their revictimization”.

The Livre bill, in addition to the issue of public crime, “clarifies the possibility of the victim requesting that their statements be taken for future reference” and “broadens the possibility of the victim of crimes of sexual coercion, rape and sexual abuse of a person incapable of resistance being able to request both the archiving of the investigation and the provisional suspension of the process”.

In October 2024, parliament "failed" a bill from the Chega parliamentary group that intended to amend the Penal Code so that the crime of rape would become public, with votes against from the PSD, PS and CDS-PP benches and abstentions from the PCP and Livre.