crime
Faeser for defusing sexual criminal law
Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) wants investigative authorities to “give more scope” to “combat the really bad deeds”. photo
© Paul Zinken/dpa
If young people send each other naked pictures – for example in the case of so-called sexting – this can be regarded as the dissemination of child pornographic content. Faeser thinks: That has to change.
Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser has spoken out in favor of relaxing sexual criminal law. “An increase in penalties has meant that young people are threatened with severe penalties if they exchange nude photos with each other,” said the SPD politician to the newspapers of the Funke media group. “Here it is more important to create an awareness of the risks when sharing the most private things than to proceed with harsh criminal sanctions.”
It’s also about priorities, said Faeser. “Then the investigative authorities would have more scope to fight the really bad deeds,” said the minister. The federal and state justice ministers are currently negotiating a correction.
Possessing and distributing child pornography has been a felony with a minimum sentence of one year since 2021. However, the tightened paragraph 184b of the penal code often affects young people themselves – for example with so-called sexting, the digital exchange of sexual photos and videos. If boys and girls under the age of 14 record themselves having sex or masturbating, the recordings are considered child pornography, the possession of which is punishable as a crime once they have reached the age of criminal responsibility.