The Minister of Justice is proposing criminal liability for sexual harassment

The Ministry of Justice, together with experts, has started working on changes to the law so that sexual harassment can be criminalized in Latvia. The Minister of the Industry is convinced that this is the right moment to do so, taking into account the worrying information about the harassment of university lecturers to female students.

“Such situations are possible both in high schools and in workplaces where there are power relations, and where we cannot say that it is a voluntary desire of two adults to show their emotions. and that’s exactly what this proposal is about, we’re not talking about compliments, we’re not talking about flattery, we’re talking about harassment, which is unwanted and puts a person in a victim position,” says Justice Lībiņa-Egner.

Sexual harassment is a violation of human dignity. And it has different forms – it can be both verbal and sexual remarks and jokes, as well as unwanted physical contact and touching, psychological influence. Moreover, such behavior can also be implemented using the digital environment. Such humiliation often goes without consequences and creates a sense of impunity.

The Ministry of Justice is still developing the proposals, but soon promises to submit them to the Saeima for second reading amendments to the Criminal Law.

“The state cannot think that rape is the only form of sexual violence in which a person is humiliated, such harassment can also be humiliating, and we see how such a problem unfortunately exists in Latvia,” says Lībiņa-Egnere.

Latvia’s leading organization for the defense of women’s rights, “Centrs Marta”, believes that establishing criminal liability for sexual harassment is a necessary step.

“We fully support the direction of such amendments, because what we see in Latvian society, sexual harassment – exists. Maybe it is not talked about much and it is not recognized,” says Iluta Lāce, head of the association.

The Central Statistics Office’s survey on violence conducted three years ago concluded that 11% of women and 5% of men have experienced sexual harassment at the workplace.

“This sexual harassment, sexual abuse, it happens not only in the work environment, it also happens in other public spaces, and such a legal provision would help to regulate it, regardless of whether you are in a sports club, whether you are on the street, if you are with it encountered, you can turn to the law enforcement institutions, and this would also promote and help the law enforcement institutions themselves to form a unified, clear understanding of these crimes,” says Lāce.

Prosecutor General Juris Stukāns has stated that it is possible to criminalize sexual harassment, but in that case the law must clearly state which actions are not permitted. Otherwise, the law will be inapplicable in real life.