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Female genital mutilation
Member States shall ensure that the following intentional conduct is punishable as a criminal offence: (a) excising, infibulating or performing any other mutilation to the whole or any part of the labia majora, labia minora or clitoris; (b) coercing or procuring a woman or a girl to undergo any of the acts referred to in point (a).
Forced marriage
Member States shall ensure that the following intentional conduct is punishable as a criminal offence: (a) forcing an adult or a child to enter into a marriage; (b) luring an adult or a child to the territory of a country other than the one in which he or she resides with the purpose of forcing that adult or child to enter into a marriage.
Non-consensual sharing of intimate or manipulated material
1. Member States shall ensure that the following intentional conduct is punishable as a criminal offence: (a) making accessible to the public, by means of information and communication technologies (‘ICT’), images, videos or similar material depicting sexually explicit activities or the intimate parts of a person, without that person’s consent, where such conduct is likely to cause serious harm to that person; (b) producing, manipulating or altering and subsequently making accessible to the public, by means of ICT, images, videos or similar material making it appear as though a person is engaged in sexually explicit activities, without that person’s consent, where such conduct is likely to cause serious harm to that person; (c) threatening to engage in the conduct referred to in point (a) or (b) in order to coerce a person to do, acquiesce to or refrain from a certain act. 2. Paragraph 1, points (a) and (b), of this Article does not affect the obligation to respect the rights, freedoms and principles referred to in Article 6 TEU and applies without prejudice to fundamental principles related to the freedom of expression and information and the freedom of the arts and sciences, as implemented in Union or national law.
Cyber stalking
Member States shall ensure that the intentional conduct of repeatedly or continuously placing a person under surveillance, without that person’s consent or a legal authorisation to do so, by means of ICT, to track or monitor that person’s movements and activities, where such conduct is likely to cause serious harm to that person, is punishable as a criminal offence.
Cyber harassment
Member States shall ensure that the following intentional conduct is punishable as a criminal offence: (a) repeatedly or continuously engaging in threatening conduct directed at a person, at least where such conduct involves threats to commit criminal offences, by means of ICT, where such conduct is likely to cause that person to seriously fear for their own safety or the safety of dependants; (b) engaging, together with other persons, by means of ICT, in publicly accessible threatening or insulting conduct directed at a person, where such conduct is likely to cause serious psychological harm to that person; (c) the unsolicited sending, by means of ICT, of an image, video or other similar material depicting genitals to a person, where such conduct is likely to cause serious psychological harm to that person; (d) making accessible to the public, by means of ICT, material containing the personal data of a person, without that person’s consent, for the purpose of inciting other persons to cause physical or serious psychological harm to that person.
Cyber incitement to violence or hatred
1. Member States shall ensure that intentionally inciting violence or hatred directed against a group of persons or a member of such a group, defined by reference to gender, by publicly disseminating, by means of ICT, material containing such incitement is punishable as a criminal offence. 2. For the purposes of paragraph 1, Member States may choose to punish only conduct which is either carried out in a manner likely to disturb public order or which is threatening, abusive or insulting.
Inciting, aiding and abetting and attempt
1. Member States shall ensure that inciting the commission of any of the criminal offences referred to in Articles 3 to 6 and Article 7, first paragraph, point (b), is punishable as a criminal offence. 2. Member States shall ensure that aiding and abetting the commission of any of the criminal offences referred to in Article 3, first paragraph, point (a), and Articles 4 to 8 is punishable as a criminal offence. 3. Member States shall ensure that an attempt to commit any of the criminal offences referred to in Articles 3 and 4 is punishable as a criminal offence.
Penalties
1. Member States shall ensure that the criminal offences referred to in Articles 3 to 9 are punishable by effective, proportionate and dissuasive criminal penalties. 2. Member States shall ensure that the criminal offences referred to in Article 3 are punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of at least five years. 3. Member States shall ensure that the criminal offences referred to in Article 4 are punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of at least three years. 4. Member States shall ensure that the criminal offences referred to in Articles 5 and 6, Article 7, first paragraph, points (a), (b) and (d), and Article 8 are punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of at least one year.
Aggravating circumstances
To the extent that the following circumstances do not form part of the constituent elements of the criminal offences referred to in Articles 3 to 8, Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that, in relation to the relevant criminal offences referred to in those Articles, one or more of the following circumstances can, in accordance with national law, be regarded as an aggravating circumstance: (a) the offence, or another criminal offence of violence against women or domestic violence, was committed repeatedly; (b) the offence was committed against a person made vulnerable by particular circumstances, such as a situation of dependence or a state of physical, mental, intellectual or sensory disability; (c) the offence was committed against a child; (d) the offence was committed in the presence of a child; (e) the offence was committed by two or more persons acting together; (f) the offence was preceded or accompanied by extreme levels of violence; (g) the offence was committed with the use of a weapon or the threat of using a weapon; (h) the offence was committed with the use of force or threats to use force, or by means of coercion; (i) the conduct caused the death of the victim or severe physical or psychological harm to the victim; (j) the offender has previously been convicted of offences of the same nature; (k) the offence was committed against a former or current spouse or partner; (l) the offence was committed by a member of the family of, or a person cohabiting with, the victim; (m) the offence was committed by abusing a recognised position of trust, authority or influence; (n) the offence was committed against a person because that person was a public representative, a journalist or a human rights defender; (o) the intention of the offence was to preserve or restore the so-called ‘honour’ of a person, a family, a community or another similar group; (p) the intention of the offence was to punish the victim for the victim’s sexual orientation, gender, colour, religion, social origin or political beliefs.
Jurisdiction
1. Each Member State shall take the necessary measures to establish its jurisdiction over the criminal offences referred to in Articles 3 to 9 where: (a) the offence is committed in whole or in part within its territory; or (b) the offender is one of its nationals. 2. A Member State shall inform the Commission where it decides to extend its jurisdiction to criminal offences as referred to in Articles 3 to 9 which have been committed outside its territory, where: (a) the offence is committed against one of its nationals or against a habitual resident in its territory; or (b) the offender is a habitual resident in its territory. 3. Member States shall ensure that their jurisdiction established over the criminal offences referred to in Articles 5 to 9 includes situations where the criminal offence is committed by means of ICT accessed from their territory, whether or not the intermediary service provider is based on their territory. 4. In the cases referred to in paragraph 1, point (b), of this Article, each Member State shall ensure that its jurisdiction established over the criminal offences referred to in Articles 3 and 4 is not subject to the condition that the conduct referred to in those Articles is punishable as a criminal offence in the State where it was carried out. 5. In the cases referred to in paragraph 1, point (b), Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that the exercise of their jurisdiction is not subject to the condition that a prosecution can be initiated only following a report made by the victim in the place where the criminal offence was committed, or a denunciation from the State of the place where the criminal offence was committed.
Limitation periods
1. Member States shall take the necessary measures to provide for a limitation period that enables the investigation, prosecution, trial and adjudication of criminal offences as referred to in Articles 3 to 9 for a sufficient period of time after the commission of those criminal offences in order for those criminal offences to be tackled effectively. The limitation period shall be commensurate with the gravity of the criminal offence concerned. 2. Where the victim is a child, the limitation period for criminal offences as referred to in Article 3 shall commence at the earliest once the victim has reached 18 years of age.
Articles on this page are reproduced verbatim from official open data. See the attribution line.
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.