Brazil's Congress Approves Making Sexual Insistence a Crime

03/08/2018 - 11h07

A full session of the lower house of Congress approved on Wednesday (the 7th) a bill that would classify as a crime disclosing rape scenes and would increase the penalty for gang rapes.

The bill also calls for making sexual insistence a crime, including cases like men who masturbate or ejaculate on public transportation.

The bill needs to go through another round of review in the Senate before being sanctioned by the President.

For cases of sexual insistence, the bill calls for confinement of one to five years, if the act doesn't involve a more serious crime, like rape. Currently, these acts are generally considered only to be misdemeanors.

In cases of supplying, selling or releasing photographs, videos or any other type of audio visual recording that contains scenes of rape, the bill also defines the penalty as from one to five years of prison.

The vote ended up being held on the eve of International Women's Day, when Congress also approved another package of bills to combat violence against women.

In addition to the lower house of Congress, the Senate approved three proposals that would include measures to criminalize practices like publishing misogynistic messages on the internet, so-called "revenge porn", and disobeying protective measures stipulated by the Maria da Penha Law.

Translated by LLOYD HARDER

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