2 Forcible sexual intercourse and indecency through compulsion
The Act Partially Amending the Penal Code (Act No. 72 of 2017) came into effect in July 2017. The Act widened the definition of rape prior to its amendment so that it made no distinction based on the victim’s sex, and included anal and oral intercourse (hereinafter vaginal intercourse, anal intercourse or oral intercourse are referred to as “sexual intercourse”). The Act also raised the minimum statutory penalty, newly established indecency and sexual intercourse by a person having custody of a victim under the age of 18, and changed forcible sexual intercourse and indecency through compulsion into a crime indictable without a complaint.
The Act Partially Amending the Penal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure (Act No. 66 of 2023) came into effect on July 13, 2023, and as a result, indecency through compulsion and constructive indecency through compulsion, and forcible sexual intercourse and constructive forcible sexual intercourse were integrated into indecent assault and penetrative sexual assault, respectively.
In addition, the penalties were also revised, such as making it possible to punish a person for the crime of indecent assault and penetrative sexual assault if the person commits an indecent act or sexual penetration against a victim between the ages of 13 to 15, and was born more than 5 years before the date of the birth of the victim.
Fig. 1-1-2-2 shows the trend in the number of reported/cleared cases and the clearance rate for forcible sexual intercourse (including constructive forcible sexual intercourse, and sexual intercourse by a custodian after the amendment in 2017; the same applies hereinafter).
Fig. 1-1-2-2 Forcible sexual intercourse: reported/cleared cases and clearance rate
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Fig. 1-1-2-3 shows the trend in the number of reported/cleared cases and the clearance rate for indecency through compulsion (including constructive indecency through compulsion, and indecency by a custodian after the amendment in 2017; the same applies hereinafter).
Fig. 1-1-2-3 Indecency through compulsion: reported/cleared cases and clearance rate
