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Ombudsman Renate Weber said on Tuesday to the members of the inquiry committee for minor abuse that the current legislation should be changed, in the sense of clearly establishing the age until any sexual act with a minor is a crime that can be qualified as rape.
"From a legislative standpoint, we consider all these situations as being rapes. You don't need to increase the punishment, we must qualify this type of behavior exactly. Because rape includes constraint and that is what we must understand - constraint is also psychological, through various means of allurements with means of subsistence, after all," Weber said, during the debate organized by the inquiry committee regarding the investigation of cases of sexual abuse or any other kind of physical abuse upon minors from residential type services which are subordinated to the General Directorates of Social Assistance and Child Protection.
According to Ombudsman, every week about 15 cases of abuse are being reported, including sexual abuse against minors, which mostly happen in the communities they are part of, as well as within the family, Agerpres.ro informs.
"There are many such situations and we, at this moment, are trying to convince the Prosecutors' Office, but also court rooms that any time this is about a very young child, 8, 9, 10 years old, these cases should not be considered as sexual acts with a minor, which would assume their consent, but rather to qualify them as rape and treating them as such. I believe that this is important, because if we're starting from the idea that a 10-11 year old can give their consent to a sexual act with a 60, 30, or 40 year old adult, I believe that we are distorting what child protection means. (...) I receive a folder every week that includes probably 10-15 reports, many, so many, and not just in the family. I am horrified every time I see how many cases are taking place in the small community where the children are, in the circle where they are lured. Some are starving and are given candy, a sandwich. Does that qualify as an 11 year old's consent?!" Renate Weber asked.
