On Wednesday, the deputies adopted the project by which any sexual act with a minor under the age of 16 is criminalized as rape. The legislative proposal establishes that the age of sexual consent is raised from 14 to 16 years, and the crime of rape against a minor will be criminalized separately, as well as sexual assault against a minor. The Minister of Justice Alina Gorghiu, one of the initiators of the project, stated that any day without this law “constituted an escape hatch for sexual aggressors”, and “from now on, a safer environment will be ensured for children, and criminals convicted of rape they will no longer benefit from the postponement or suspension of the sentence”.
The purpose of the draft law is to amend and supplement Law no. 286/2009 and Law no. 135/2010.
According to the statement of reasons, the purpose of the initiative is to raise the age of sexual consent and to separately criminalize the crime of rape committed against a minor, as well as that of sexual assault committed against a minor and the crime consisting in determining or facilitating the maintenance of sexual acts or sexual nature between minors, with aggravating forms and proportional punishments.
“From today, any sexual act with a minor under the age of 16 is criminalized as rape! I submitted this project in June 2022, together with other fellow parliamentarians. A year later, this law becomes a reality. Every day without this law was a escape hatch for sexual aggressors. From now on, a safer environment for children will be ensured, and criminals convicted of rape will no longer benefit from the postponement or suspension of the sentence,” Alina Gorghiu said.
The Minister of Justice also said that no one will ever be able to claim in any courtroom that a minor under the age of 16 consented to a sexual act with an adult.
Romania is at the top of the list with the highest number of victims of sexual crimes in Europe, and 80% of these victims are women and children.
“Parliament had the obligation to correct the legislative loopholes that allow the guilty to escape without being punished to the extent of the crime. Until now, Romania was among the 8 states that had the age of sexual consent at 14, while 7 other states had 15, and 11 European states, along with the USA, Canada and Israel, have already opted for the age of 16.
Editor: Andreea Smerea
