Marina Aksenova Lawyer, website author
Expert commentary
Sexual violence against both women and men, qualified under parts 1 and 2 of Article 132 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, is punishable by imprisonment for a term of 12 to 20 years with restriction of freedom for up to 2 years with deprivation of the right to hold a certain position or engage in certain activities for a period up to 20 years, or without deprivation, if it:
- caused the death of the victim (due to negligence);
- committed against a person under 14 years of age.
According to Part 5 of Article 132 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, for acts provided for in Parts 1 and 2 of this article, committed against persons under 14 years of age, they face:
- imprisonment from 15 to 20 years with deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for up to 20 years;
- or life imprisonment.
But only if, during the investigation of a crime against sexual integrity, it becomes clear that the accused has already been prosecuted for crimes committed against a minor, listed in Chapter 18 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
Crimes against sexual integrity of minors
In Russia there is a fairly large number of children who have survived sexual violence. According to statistics, every fourth victim is a child. In addition, the issue of sexual violence in the family is acute in the country.
Due to the fact that children are more vulnerable in this case, penalties for sexual assault against minors were tightened in 2012. The maximum penalty for violating the sexual integrity of a child under 14 years of age is imprisonment for 20 years. In addition, it is impossible to obtain a suspended sentence in this case.
In 2022, a bill was introduced to the State Duma, which proposes to toughen the punishment for sexual assault against a minor even more. The creators of this project want to make changes to Part 5 of Article 132. They plan to increase the age of the child to 18 years if the accused commits a crime against a minor under Chapter 18 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation again. In addition, they propose to leave only one punishment - life imprisonment.
Commentary on Article 132 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation
1. The main object of sexual assault is similar to the object of rape, but the victim of this crime can be either a male or female person.
2. The objective side of the crime in question is characterized by actions - the commission of sodomy, lesbianism or other acts of a sexual nature with the use of violence or the threat of its use against the victim (survivor) or other persons, or taking advantage of the helpless state of the victim (victim). In the case of voluntary consent of partners when committing acts of a sexual nature specified in the law, there is no corpus delicti.
3. Sodomy (a type of homosexuality, male homosexuality, pederasty) refers to violent acts of a sexual nature through intercourse between a man and a man, insertion of the penis of an active partner into the anus (rectum) of a passive partner. Only a man can be the victim of sodomy.
Lesbianism as a female type of homosexuality (sapphism, tribadia) is understood as the violent commission by a woman against another woman of various acts of a sexual nature aimed at satisfying sexual passion through physical contact with the victim’s genitals (imitation of sexual intercourse, contact of the genitals with other parts of the body, masturbation and so on.).
Other actions of a sexual nature should be understood as any other means of forcibly satisfying sexual needs between men, between a woman and a man, between women in other forms other than rape, sodomy and lesbianism, for example, anal or oral contact between a man and a woman, between men. These same cases should include sexual contact between a man and a woman in a natural form in the case of a woman using violence against a man, forcing him to copulate.
4. The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, in Ruling No. 135-O dated March 24, 2005, refused to accept for consideration the complaint of I.L. Chernyshev, who challenged the constitutionality of Art. 132 of the Criminal Code, which, in his opinion, contains ambiguity in the concept of “other actions of a sexual nature,” pointing out that Art. 132 of the Criminal Code, which provides for criminal liability for violent acts of a sexual nature, i.e. for sodomy, lesbianism or other acts of a sexual nature with the use of violence or with the threat of its use against the victim (victim) or other persons, or taking advantage of the helpless state of the victim (victim), and aimed at protecting the individual from such attacks, as such constitutional does not violate the rights of the applicant in a specific criminal case.
5. The content of the signs of the objective side of the assault - violence or the threat of its use, the use of the helpless state of the victim (victim) are similar to Art. 131 of the Criminal Code (see comments to this article).
6. The crime is considered completed from the moment the commission of sodomy, lesbianism, or other acts of a sexual nature using violence, threats or the helpless state of the victim (victim) begins.
7. The subjective side of the crime is characterized by direct intent.
8. The subject of the crime is a sane male or female person who has reached the age of 14 years.
9. The qualifying characteristics specified in Parts 2 - 5 of the commented article, with similar characteristics of Art. 131 of the Criminal Code are the same in list and content (see commentary to Article 131)
Forensic-medical examination
In case of sexual crimes, an examination is required. Its results are one of the main evidence of the criminal’s guilt.
Forensic examination of sexual crimes is designed to answer the following questions:
- whether the victim shows signs of sexual assault;
- how long ago these actions were performed;
- whether the victim has other injuries (for example, bruises, fractures, etc.);
- whether the victim was really helpless during the commission of violent acts.
The expert must examine in detail the shoes and clothing of the victim in order to find biological material from the criminal. After which he sends him to the laboratory. The expert must also examine the victim’s genitals, mouth, neck, chest and inner thighs and take biological material from the offender (traces of semen, lubricant or blood). Based on all this information, a conclusion is made as to whether the victim was raped or not.
The suspect must also undergo a forensic examination. His clothes and shoes are also confiscated and his genitals are examined. All found biological materials are sent to the laboratory.
Marina Aksenova Lawyer, website author
Expert commentary
