Polish parliament approves new rape law making sex without consent a crime

A large majority in the Sejm, the more powerful lower hour of parliament, has approved a change to Poland’s rape law that would make it a crime to engage in sexual intercourse without the consent of the other person.

The current law – which dates back to 1932 – defines rape as an act that “subjects another person to sexual intercourse by force, unlawful threats or deception”. It does not specify lack of consent as a criterion.

That has resulted in rulings such as one in 2020 in which a man was acquitted of raping a 14-year-old girl because the judge accepted his argument that the fact she did not scream during the act meant that the perpetrator did not use violence.

A court overturned a rape conviction because the 14-year-old victim did not scream during the incident.

Critics say the case is illustrative of wider failings in how rape is defined and dealt with in Poland’s justice system https://t.co/M4Fkuxy3x3

— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) September 17, 2020

Today, 335 members of the 460-seat Sejm voted in favour of a proposal by The Left (Lewica), one of the groups that make up Poland’s ruling coalition, to define sexual intercourse with “a lack of conscious and voluntary consent” as rape.

Most of those votes came from the ruling coalition, whose members range from the left to the centre-right. The only major party to vote entirely against the measure was the far-right Confederation (Konfederacja).

The national-conservative Law and Justice (PiS), which constitutes the main opposition group, was divided: 94 of its MPs voted in favour of changing the law, 26 were opposed while 47 abstained and 22 did not participate in the vote.

How MPs from each caucus voted on amending the rape law to make sexual intercourse without consent a crime (za = for, przeciw = against, wstrzymało się = abstained, nie głosowało = did not vote)

During a debate on the bill yesterday, some MPs from Confederation and PiS argued that it would deprive men of the presumption of innocence and could be used by women to falsely accuse men of rape.

“The new law is pure demagogy and de facto a gift for ruthless and vindictive women who will now be able to use this law to attack their former lovers,” said PiS MP Grzegorz Lorek, quoted by broadcaster TVN.

“This bill introduces a de facto presumption of guilt, a presumption of guilt that every person accused of rape will have to prove that he or she is not a criminal,” added Witold Tumanowicz of Confederation.

A woman who killed her husband in self-defence when he tried to rape her has had her not-guilty verdict upheld by Poland’s Supreme Court.

Prosecutors wanted her jailed for murder and appealed lower-court rulings that acquitted her https://t.co/ZJMkMyAH9i

— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) January 19, 2023

However, another PiS MP, Agnieszka Wojciechowska van Heukelom, declared that she supported the bill because “a woman’s will, a woman’s awareness when engaging in a sexual act is very important, so I am absolutely on the side of women”.

Monika Rosa, an MP from the centrist Civic Coalition (KO), the main ruling group, said that “thousands of women have been waiting for this bill for years”. She declared that “a victim should not have to prove that they defended themselves when their body was used without their consent”.

Having been approved by the Sejm, the bill now passes to the upper-house Senate, where the government also has a majority and which can in any case only delay and suggest amendments to legislation.

Once passed by parliament, the bill goes to the desk of President Andrzej Duda, a conservative PiS ally, who can sign it into law, veto it, or pass it to the constitutional court for assessment.

Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.

Main image credit: Agnieszka Morcinek / Agencja Wyborcza.pl

Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.