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The Finnish Criminal Code (15 January 1971/16)
A person who forces a woman to sexual intercourse by violence of an imminent danger shall
be sentenced for rape to imprisonment. The impairment of the power of a woman to control
her conduct or to offer resistance shall be deemed equivalent to violence and threat. An
attempt is punishable. (29 April 1994/316)
A person, who, in a situation not referred to above, forces another to sexual intercourse
or other indecency by violence or by threat shall be sentenced for sexual assault to
imprisonment. The impairment of the power of another to control his conduct or to offer
resistance shall be deemed equivalent to violence or a threat. An attempt is punishable.
(29 April 1994/316)
A person who has sexual intercourse or commits other indecency with another, by taking
advantage of the inability of said another to control his conduct or, due to a mental
defect, illness or other infirmity, not to offer resistance or understand the meaning of
the act , or by grossly abusing the dependence of another on the offender or taking
advantage of vulnerability or distress, shall be sentenced to imprisonment. (29 April
1996/316)
(a) A person who has sexual intercourse with a person under 14 years of age or commits
other comparable indecency with a said person shall be sentenced for statutory rape to
imprisonment.
(b) If a person at least 16 years of age commits the act referred to in (a) with a person
who is at least 14 but not yet 16 years of age he shall be sentenced to imprisonment or to
a fine.
(c) If the offence referred to in (a) and (b) is committed in a manner manifesting
exceptional cruelty or brutality and, with due consideration to the totality of
circumstances leading to and manifested in the offence, the offence in the above mentioned
or in other cases is considered be aggravated , the offender shall be sentenced for
aggravated statutory rape to imprisonment. An attempt of the offences mentioned in this
section shall be punished.
A person who entices or persuades a person under 14 years of age into sexual intercourse
or other comparable indecency with another person shall be sentenced for enticement of a
child to imprisonment.
If a person at least 16 years of age entices or persuades a person at least 14 but not yet
16 years of age in the manner referred to above, he shall be sentenced to imprisonment or
to a fine.
A person who, by taking advantage of his position, has sexual intercourse with a person at
least 16 but not yet 18 years of age and for whose maintenance the offender is liable or
who is subordinated to the offender's authority or supervision in a school, institution or
otherwise, or commits other indecency, comparable to sexual intercourse, with such a
person who is of the opposite sex, shall be sentenced for illicit sexual intercourse with
a young person to imprisonment. The same provision applies if the act takes place by
taking advantage of the young person's other similar dependence on the offender.
If a person at least 18 years of age commits indecency, comparable to sexual intercourse,
with a member of the same sex who is at least 16 but not yet 18 years of age or, in the
circumstances referred to above, with a member of the same sex who is at least 16 but not
yet 21 years of age, the offender shall be sentenced to prison.
If a person at least 16 years of age touches a person under 16 years of age in a manner
violating sexual morality, or otherwise acts towards said person in a manner violating
sexual morality, he shall be sentenced, if no punishment for the act is provided above,
for immoral behaviour towards a child to imprisonment or to a fine.
(a) A person who has sexual intercourse with his own child or with a descendant of his own
child shall be sentenced for incest to imprisonment.
(b) If a
brother or a sister or a half-brother or a half-sister have sexual intercourse with each
other, both shall be sentenced for sibling incest to imprisonment.
The above provisions do
not apply to a person who has been forced to the act in the manner referred to in (a) and
(b).
A person who keeps a brothel or entices or persuades another person into
prostitution shall be sentenced for pandering to imprisonment.
A person who for personal gain encourages or take advantage of the life that a prostitute
leads shall be sentenced to imprisonment. An attempt shall be punished.
If someone publicly commits an act violating sexual morality, thereby giving offence, he
shall be sentenced to imprisonment.
If someone publicly commits an act violating sexual morality, thereby giving offence he
shall be sentenced for public violation of sexual morality to imprisonment or to a fine.
A person who publicly encourages sexual relations between persons of the same sex shall be
sentenced for incitement to homosexuality to imprisonment or to a fine. Proposals for the
amendment of the Penal Code of Finland (Government Bill to Parliament no 6/1997)
Section 19 Distribution of obscene pictures
A person who offers for sale or for hire, distributes, or to that end manufactures or
imports, pictures or visual recordings depicting children, violence or bestiality in an
obscene way, shall be sentenced for distribution of obscene pictures to a fine or to
imprisonment.
Section 20 Possession of obscene pictures of children
A person, who unlawfully has in his/her possession a photograph, video, tape, film or
other visual recording, based on reality, depicting a child having sexual intercourse or
in a comparable sexual act, or depicting a child in another obviously obscene way, shall
be sentenced for possession of obscene pictures of children to a fine or to imprisonment.
Section 21 Obscene marketing
A person who, for gain, markets an obscene picture, visual recording or object which is
conducive to causing public offence, by:
-giving it to a person under 15 years of age;
-putting it on public display;
-delivering it unsolicited to another; or
-openly offering it for sale or promoting it by advertisement, brochure or poster or by
other means causing public offence shall be sentenced for obscene marketing to a fine or
to imprisonment for at most six months
Section 22 Public obscenity
A person who publicly performs an obscene act which causes offence shall be sentenced
unless the act carries a penalty elsewhere in law, for public obscenity to a fine or to
imprisonment.
Section 23 Incest
A person who has sexual intercourse with his /her child or other descendant, his /her
parent or other ascendant, or his/her sibling, shall be sentenced for incest to a fine or
imprisonment.
A person who has had sexual intercourse with his/her parent or other ascendant while under
18 years of age and a person who has been coerced or unlawfully enticed into the sexual
intercourse shall not be punished for incest.
Chapter 20 Sex offences
Section 1 Rape
A person who coerces another into sexual intercourse by the use or threat of violence
shall be sentenced for rape to imprisonment.
A person shall also be punished for rape if he/she takes advantage of the incapacity of
another to defend himself /herself and has sexual intercourse with him/her unconscious or
causing him/her to be in such a state of incapacity owing to fear or another similar
reason. An attempt is punishable.
Section 5 Sexual abuse
A person who abuses his/her position and entices one of the following into sexual
intercourse, into another sexual act essentially violating his/her right of sexual
self-determination, or into submission of such an act,
- a person younger than 18 years of age, who in a school or other institution is a subject
to the authority or supervision of the offender or in another comparable manner
subordinate to the offender;
- a patient in a hospital or other institution, whose capacity to defend himself/herself
is essentially impaired owing to illness, handicap or other infirmity; or
- a person who is especially dependent on the offender, where the offender blatantly takes
advantage of the dependence, shall be sentenced for sexual abuse to a fine or to
imprisonment.
A person shall also be punished for sexual abuse if he/she takes advantage of the
incapacity of another to defend himself/herself or to make or express a decision, owing to
unconsciousness, illness, handicap or other helplessness, and has sexual intercourse with
him/her, or gets him/her to perform a sexual act essentially violating his/her right of
sexual self-determination or to submit to such an act. An attempt is punishable.
Section 6 Sexual abuse of a child
1. A person who has sexual intercourse with a person younger than fifteen years of age or
by touching or otherwise performs a sexual act with a person younger than fifteen years of
age, said act being conducive to impairing his/her development, or gets him/her to perform
such an act, shall be sentenced for sexual abuse of a child to imprisonment.
2. However, an act referred to in (1) shall not be deemed sexual abuse of a child if there
is no great difference in the ages or the mental and physical maturity of the persons
involved.
3. A person shall also be punished for sexual abuse of a child if he/she commits an act
referred to in (1) with a person over 15 but younger than 18 years of age, if the offender
is the parent of the child or, if living in the same household with the child, the
offender is in a position comparable to that of a parent.
4. An attempt is punishable.
Section 7 Aggravated sexual abuse of a child
If , in the sexual abuse of a child,
- the victim is a child whose age or stage of development are such that the offence is
conducive to causing special injury to him/her:
- the offence is committed in an especially humiliating manner; or
- the offence is conducive to causing special injury to the child owing to the special
trust he/she has put in the offender or the special dependence of the child on the
offender, and the offence is aggravated also when assessed as a whole,
the offender shall be sentenced for aggravated sexual abuse of a child to imprisonment for
a longer term.
An attempt is punishable. Section 8 Buying sexual services from a young person
A person who, by promising or giving remuneration, gets a person younger than 18 years of
age to have sexual intercourse or to perform another sexual act shall be sentenced for
buying sexual services from a young person to a fine or to imprisonment. An attempt is
punishable.
Section 9 Pandering
A person who, in order to gain economic benefit for himself/herself or for someone else,
- keeps a room or other premises where sexual intercourse or other comparable sexual acts
are offered for remuneration;
- otherwise takes advantage of the performance of such an act by someone else; or
- entices or intimidates another to such an act,
shall be sentenced for pandering to a fine or to imprisonment. An attempt is punishable.
Section 10 Definitions
In this chapter sexual intercourse means the sexual penetration , by a sexual organ or
directed at a sexual organ, of the body of another.
In this chapter, a sexual act means an act whose purpose is sexual arousal or satisfaction
and which is sexually significant in view of the circumstances and the persons involved.
Section 11 Right to bring charges
The public prosecutor shall not bring charges for the offences referred to in sections 3,
4 or 5 (1), unless the complainant reports the offence in order to bring charges or unless
a very important public interest requires that charges be brought.
Section 12 Waiver of measures
Where the complainant of an offence referred to in sections 1,5 (2) or 6 on his/her own
free will requests that charges not be brought, the public prosecutor is entitled to waive
the bringing of charges, unless an important private or public interest requires that
charges be brought.