National Council wants to raise age limit for statute of limitations
Published: Thursday, Sep 12th 2024, 13:40
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Not only sexual offenses against children, but also against adolescents should be barred by the statute of limitations. The National Council adopted a motion by 101 votes to 75 with 16 abstentions to raise the age limit for the statute of limitations, against the wishes of the Federal Council.
According to the motion by Mike Egger (SVP/SG), sexual offenses should not be time-barred if the victim is under the age of 16. Today, the age limit is twelve years. The background to this demand is the reports of sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church.
Many of these victims were minors, Egger explained. The acts were ignored or trivialized by church officials and victims were obliged to remain silent. Better protection is needed for underage victims. They often suffer the consequences of abuse for the rest of their lives.
The issue was discussed and rejected in connection with the statute of limitations initiative, Justice Minister Beat Jans replied on Thursday. "The maximum age of 16 for the statute of limitations would overshoot the mark."
This is because sexual offenses between young adults, where the older person is 20 years old and the younger person is only slightly under 16 years old, could also become time-barred.
It was not the SVP's first attempt to raise the age limit for the statute of limitations for sexual offenses. In June 2019, the National Council rejected a similar proposal.
The SVP also campaigned in vain for the age limit of 16 during the consultations on the implementation of the initiative on the statute of limitations. The legal provisions have been in force since the beginning of 2013. Accordingly, there is no statute of limitations for serious sexual abuse of children under the age of twelve.
The motion goes to the Council of States.
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