Germany To Criminalise Rape Videos

Germany plans to criminalise the possession, production and distribution of videos depicting rape as part of proposed legislation targeting digital violence.

The bill was put forward by Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig and approved by the Cabinet on Wednesday.

The legislation, which still requires approval in Parliament, is in response to a high-profile case of online sexual violence involving TV star Collien Fernandes.

Fernandes publicly accused her ex-husband Christian Ulmen, a well-known actor, of creating profiles in her name and spreading pornographic videos of her.

While Ulmen has denied the accusations, the incident sparked demonstrations across Germany.

Hubig’s bill includes new offences covering identity misuse and the unauthorised creation and distribution of sexual deep fakes.

Sexual deep fakes are manipulated images or videos that falsely appear to show a real person naked or engaged in sexual acts.

Under current German law, the possession and production of videos showing rape is not generally prohibited when intended for private use, while their distribution is not automatically a criminal offence.

Whether an offence has been committed depends on what is shown, how and where the footage was recorded and who receives it.

The draft legislation would also make it a criminal offence to take or distribute unauthorised images of another person’s naked genitals, buttocks or female breasts.

The rules on digital voyeurism would apply regardless of whether the images were taken in public places, such as a sauna or nudist beach, or in private premises.