A special research group on violence against women, set up by the government's Council for Gender Equality, has compiled a report calling for further countermeasures, including tougher penalties, to deter rape and other sex crimes, which are on the increase. The report calls for a partial revision of the Criminal Code that would, for example, impose a heavier minimum punishment for rape by raising the current prison sentence of two years or more to three years or more.
Crime is a faithful reflection of pathology in a society. The frequent occurrence of sexual crime signals a loosening of the basic ethical values of society and the family. Stricter punishment is certainly one means of checking this trend, but what is more important is to build a social environment that does not tolerate sexual crime.
At the research group's hearing, some representatives of citizens' groups said a sentence of three years or more is too light for the crime of rape and urged heavier punishments. Recent court records, however, show that about 40 percent of the prison sentences handed out are for three or four years, so the recommendation is probably along the right lines.