Lawyer on rape trials: “The dark field is huge”

taz: Ms. Beck, there are currently several lawsuits underway nationwide against men who drugged and raped their (ex-)partners and filmed and uploaded the acts. Is the phenomenon new or is it just now becoming visible?

Susanne Beck: Probably both, unfortunately it's difficult to say because of the large number of unreported cases. We can assume that similar cases have always existed. What is new, however, is digital distribution. At the same time, investigative authorities are now better able to identify such structures.

taz: The Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) has no reliable figures on how many rape chat groups there are in German-speaking countries and how many women are affected. Are there any estimates on this?

Beck: No, not that I know of. What is certain: the dark field is huge. Very few crimes are reported. Many of those affected do not even know that they have been raped. It's more of a coincidence whether they'll find out at some point.

taz: Why is it so difficult to contain these chat groups?

Beck: There are several hurdles. Cross-border investigations are complicated, the data is often pseudonymized and the authorities rely on the cooperation of the platforms. Telegram in particular is not particularly cooperative.

taz: If the data is available, can house searches be ordered on chat members?

Beck: This requires concrete suspicion of a crime. Mere membership in such a chat group is not automatically punishable under current law. Owning and downloading the videos is also legal, even if they show a drugged woman being raped. Only distribution is punishable.

Beck: There are calls to criminalize the possession of pornographic recordings of rape - as is the case with child pornography. This would make it easier for investigative authorities to take action even if possession is suspected.

taz: There are also calls to extend the statute of limitations for rape. Since the reform of the sexual criminal law in 2016, it has only been 5 years. Do you think this is appropriate?

Beck: No, that's definitely too short. There are speculations that this short statute of limitations more or less slipped through when the law was changed. The deadline should definitely be extended.

taz: Since this summer, the BKA has been taking targeted action against online rapist networks for the first time with the “Project Medusa” campaign coordinated by Europol. There are now also special commissions at state criminal investigation offices. What else has changed in the prosecution of such crimes?

Beck: There is more awareness of the problem and more specialized bodies that are proactively trying to get into these groups and investigate. The expertise of the investigative authorities in the digital area is also improving. In addition, Telegram now seems to be a little more cooperative when it comes to releasing data. However, the platforms still need to be influenced significantly more.

Susanne Beck Dean at the Faculty of Law at Leibniz University Hannover and holder of the chair for criminal law, criminal procedure law, comparative criminal law and legal philosophy.

taz: Where do you see further adjustment screws?

Beck: There is a lot of room for improvement in both criminal proceedings and the police when it comes to supporting those affected. But there are already improvements there: further training for public prosecutors and police...

taz: ... which are not mandatory, however, because judges argue that this could influence their objectivity ...

Beck: … and psychosocial process support …

taz: ... those affected are advised not to use them until after the trial, otherwise they could be “influenced”.

Beck: The basic problem is the perspective that we have of those affected in investigations and criminal proceedings. They are primarily seen as witnesses to the crime, not as victims who need support.