Legal Definitions in the EU Member States
This resource includes the legal definitions of different types of gender-based violence used in EU Member States, according to their legal terminology and national legislation.
The resource makes a reference to the United Kingdom as a member of the European Union. It was published before the UK's withdrawal from the European Union on the 31 January 2020.
- SloveniaViolence, JusticeRape
Whoever compels a person of the same or opposite sex to submit to sexual intercourse with him by force or threat of imminent attack on life or limb shall be sentenced to imprisonment for not less than one and not more than ten years.
ObservationsSpecial circumstances of rape (in the same legal provision):
- If the offence under the preceding paragraph has been committed in a cruelor extremely humiliating manner or successively by several perpetrators or against offenders serving sentence or other persons whose personal freedom was taken away, the perpetrator(s) shall be sentenced to imprisonment for not less than three and not more than fifteen years.
- Whoever compels a person of the same or opposite sex to submit to sexualintercourse by threatening him/her with large loss of property to him/her or to his/herrelatives or with the disclosure of any matter concerning him/her or his/her relatives which is capable of damaging his/her or his/her relatives' honour and reputation shall be sentenced to imprisonment for not less than six months and not more than five years.
- If offences under paragraphs 1 or 3 of this Article have been committed against a spouse or an extra-marital partner or partner of a registered same-sex civil partnership, the prosecution shall be initiated upon a complaint.
Legal Source:Criminal Code, Article 170
- SloveniaViolence, JusticeSexual Harassment
Any form of undesired verbal, non-verbal or physical action or behaviour of a sexual nature with the effect or intent of adversely affecting the dignity of a person, especially where this involves the creation of an intimidating, hateful, degrading, shaming or insulting environment.
The Criminal code, article 197. (1) Whoever degrades or frightens another person at the workplace or in relation to work with sexual harassment, physical violence, ill-treatment or unequal treatment, shall be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than two years. (2) If the offence under the preceding paragraph results in psychological, psychosomatic or physical illness or reduction of work productivity of an employee, the perpetrator shall be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than three years.
ObservationsGeneral harassment is any undesired behaviour associated with any personal circumstance with the effect or intent of adversely affecting the dignity of a person or of creating an intimidating, hateful, degrading, shaming or insulting environment.
Legal Source:Employment Relationship Act, Article 6a
- SloveniaViolence, JusticeStalking
See "intimate partner violence," where stalking is criminalised if it occurs in the context of family violence.
- SlovakiaViolence, JusticeIntimate Partner Violence
Whoever is cruel to (abusing) a close person or a person in his custody or care, causing physical or psychological suffering to such person mainly by a) beating, kicking, punching, causing injuries and burns of any kind, humiliating, contemptuous treatment, stalking, making threats, exciting fear or stress, forcing into isolation, emotional blackmailing or any other behaviour jeopardizing the person’s physical or psychological health or limiting the person’s safety, b) groundless denying of food, rest or sleep, or denying of necessary personal care, clothing, hygiene, health care, housing, upbringing or education, c) forcing the person to beg or to perform activities requiring excessive physical or psychological exhaustion regarding the age or health condition of the person, or to perform activities that may harm the person’s health, d) exposure to substances that may harmful the person’s health, or e) unjustified preventing of access to property that the person has a right to use shall be sentenced for 3 up to 8 years of imprisonment.
ObservationsAn offender shall be sentenced for 7 up to 15 years if by committing an offence under subsection (1) a) he/she caused a serious harm to health or death, b) because of peculiar inducement, c) although he/she has been sentenced for such an offence in the part twenty four months or has been sentenced for such an offence and released on parole, d) if he/she has continued committing such an offence for a longer time, in violent manner, threatens with violence or other serious injury, or abuses emergency situation or the dependence of another person. (3) An offender shall be sentenced for 15 up to 25 years of imprisonment, or an exceptional sentence, if by committing an offence under subsection (1) and he/she caused a serious harm to health or death of several persons.
Legal Source:Criminal Code, Articled 208 (relates to domestic violence and also covers intimate partner violence)
Legal provisions on protection orders:Expelling perpetrator from a residence for 48 hours (Act no. 171/1993 Coll. on Police Force, Article 27a)
Temporary eviction of a perpetrator from a residence (Act no. 99/1963 Coll. Code of Civil Procedure as amended, Article 76 (1)g)
- SlovakiaViolence, JusticeRape
Rape is committed by a person who forced a woman to engage in sexual intercourse (coitus) by using violence or threat of immediate violence, or who for such an act abuses a woman’s vulnerable situation.
Legal Source:Criminal Code, Article 199
Legal provisions on protection orders:Protection order of not entering the residence of a person if he/she is suspected to be violent against this person (Code of Civil Procedure, Article 76(1)g)
- SlovakiaViolence, JusticeSexual Assault (excl. rape)
Slovakia uses the term "sexual violence", which is committed by a person who using violence forces another person to oral sex, anal sex or other sexual activities or who in order to commit such crime abuses another person’s vulnerability.
Legal Source:Criminal Code, Article 200
Legal provisions on protection orders:Protection order of not entering the residence of a person he/she is suspected to be violent against (Code of Civil Procedure, Article 76 (1)g)
- SlovakiaViolence, JusticeSexual Harassment
Verbal, non-verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature that is aimed at or can cause a violation of the dignity of a person and creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment.
Legal Source:Act no. 365/2004 Coll. on Equal Treatment in Certain Areas and Protection against Discrimination (Antidiscrimination Act)
- SlovakiaViolence, JusticeStalking
In Slovakia, "dangerous pursuit" is committed by a person who continually pursues another person in a way evoking danger to life or health to that person, to life or health to a person’s close persons, or worsens his/her quality of life by threats of harm to health or death to a person or person’s close person, by pursuing a person, by contacting a person by a third person in writing or electronically against this person’s will, by exploiting this person’s personal data in order to personally or otherwise contact a person, or otherwise limits this person’s usual way of life.
Legal Source:Criminal Code, Article 199
- FinlandGeneral legal definitionViolence, JusticeLegal provisions on protection orders:
There are no restraining orders in civil law.
- FinlandViolence, JusticeIntimate Partner ViolenceObservations
There is no legal definition of intimate partner violence in the criminal law. It could fall under "assault"
Legal provisions on protection orders:The initiative for the Act on the Restraining Orders was made by a group of Members of Parliament. The purpose of this proposal was to protect women in intimate relationships. The final Bill, presented to the Parliament in 1998, presented the problem in a wider context. The law on restraining orders came into force in 1999 (4.12.1998/898). There are three types of restraining orders (also called protection orders). All of them can be based on a threat of a crime against life, health or freedom of a person.
- FinlandViolence, JusticeRape
A person who forces another into sexual intercourse by the use or threat of violence shall be sentenced for rape to imprisonment for at least one year and at most six years.
ObservationsSpecial circumstances (in the same legal provision):
- Also a person who, after rendering another person unconscious or arousing in him or her a state of fear or another such state in which he or she is incapable of defending himself or herself, takes advantage of the incapacity and has sexual intercourse with him or her, shall be sentenced for rape.
- An attempt is punishable.
Aggravated rape (Criminal Code, Chapter 20, Section 2)
- If, in the rape,(1) grievous bodily injury, serious illness or a state of mortal danger isintentionally inflicted on another,(2) the offence is committed by several people, or especially hard mental or physical suffering is caused,(3) the offence is committed in a particularly brutal, cruel or humiliating manner, or(4) a firearm, edged weapon or other lethal instrument is used or a threat of other serious violence is made,and the rape is aggravated also when assessed as a whole, the offender shall be sentenced for aggravated rape to imprisonment for at least two years and at most ten years.
- An attempt is punishable.
Coercion into sexual intercourse (Criminal Code, Chapter 20, Section 3)
- If the rape, in view of the slight degree of the violence or threat and the other particulars of the offence, is deemed to have been committed under mitigating circumstances when assessed as a whole, the offender shall be sentenced for coercion into sexual intercourse to imprisonment for at most three years.
- Also a person who coerces another into sexual intercourse by a threat other than that referred to in section 1, subsection 1 shall be sentenced for coercion into sexual intercourse.
- An attempt is punishable.
Coercion into a sexual act (Criminal Code, Chapter 20, Section 4)
- A person who by violence or threat coerces another into a sexual act other thanthat referred to in section 1 or into submission to such an act, thus essentiallyviolating his or her right of sexual self-determination, shall be sentenced for coercioninto a sexual act to a fine or to imprisonment for at most three years.
- An attempt is punishable.
Legal Source:Criminal Code, Chapter 20, Section 1
- FinlandViolence, JusticeSexual Assault (excl. rape)Observations
There is no specific legal provision on "sexual assault", but sexual abuse of persons over the legal age of 16 is forbidden in the separate paragraphs depending on the position of the perpetrator. Persons under 18 years (but over 16 years) are protected from sexual relationships with persons in charge in schools or similar institutions, and also if the perpetrator takes advantage of their immaturity. Sexual abuse is always punishable if the victim is treated in a hospital or similar institution and the perpetrator takes advantage of victim’s sickness or disability or if there is some other kind of dependent relationship between the perpetrator and the victim and this dependency is misused. The last category of sexual abuse includes all cases in which the victim is for some reason (unconsciousness, sickness, disability) in a vulnerable position and the perpetrator takes sexual advantage of this. In these cases the prosecutor can drop the charges if the victim asks for it with “firm will”.
Legal provisions on protection orders:Restraining orders can be issued for sexual assault. Assault is considered aggravated if 1) grievous bodily injury or serious illness is caused to another person or another person is placed in mortal danger, 2) the offence is committed in a particularly brutal or cruel manner, 3) or a firearm, an edged weapon (knife) or other comparable lethal instrument is used. In addition, the offence is assessed as a whole and this assessment has to lead to the conclusion that it was aggravated (Criminal Code, Chapter 21(6)). The context, whether the assault was made against an intimate partner or other close person has not been a factor that the court would specifically point out in its verdicts. However, according to the preparatory works (RP 1993/94) the element number 2 above, particular cruelty should include the situations, in which the victim has been particularly vulnerable. On the other side, the Supreme Court has explicitly taken the position that jealousy is not a mitigating factor.