Legal education – challenging the Finnish criminal law syllabus

Rape in Finnish criminal law and process - A discussion on, and beyond, consent

“…Importantly, passivity is often interpreted as a sign of approval. 65 In this typical case, the law enforcement authorities did not consider the factors that rendered the victim vulnerable, such as her young age, the difference in age, maturity or strength between the parties, or the relationship of trust and intimacy between them in evaluating whether the victim was in a situation of helplessness. The fact that the victim did not clearly express her lack of voluntariness was interpreted to mean that the situation did not qualify as rape.…”