And then there is Sweden.
Anyone who wants to have sex with someone in Sweden in the future must obtain explicit permission - also in writing. Otherwise, there is a threat of rape. Debate? That seems hardly possible at the moment.
Sweden is now the least romantic country in the world, behind Saudi Arabia and Iran, but maybe that's the makers of the new law is not even aware of: The red-green government in Stockholm, which claims to be feminist, wants To radically tighten the laws of sexual offenses.
Those who want sex must not, according to the plans, ask the family for their consent and marry the person beforehand, as the Sharia law provides. But it is necessary for both sides a clear yes to the sexual act. This reverses the rule that used to apply.
No or non-verbal refusal has been required to date to meet the rape requirement. From now on, the one who desires sexual contact will have to ask permission first. If not, there is a risk of being convicted of rape.
As far as the consent procedure is concerned, it seems that oral approval should suffice. Who wants to make sure that if necessary in court is not word for word, but should be able to give something written, is currently speculated in Swedish Internet forums.
The new law is called "Consent Law". It is scheduled to come into effect on July 1, 2018 and is the first of its kind worldwide.
Cancellation of the presumption of innocence
The consent rule should apply to any form of sexuality: for couples who have just met, as well as for long-term relationships, same-sex relationships and group sex.
"The message is simple. You need to ask the person you want to have sex about if she wants it. If you are unsure, you have to leave it. Sex must be voluntary, "proclaimed the Social Democratic Prime Minister Stefan Löfven on Sunday in a Christmas speech. The new law seeks to classify more sexual acts than rape, the PM said.
Two new facts are introduced. The "careless rape" and the "careless sexual assault". Already, the legislation in Sweden is keen. For example, according to the Wikileaks founder Julian Assange on suspicion of "less gross rape" was searched.
His offense: He did not use a condom in sex otherwise described by the women as consensual. After consensual intercourse, the women were friends with Assange. Nevertheless, an international arrest warrant was issued.
The reason for the worldwide unique new sexual rules is the so-called # Metoo campaign, which followed allegations of reproach of the US film producer Harvey Weinstein. Swedish (and German) women are currently reporting on social media every day about how they experience sexual assault by men.
Witch hunt in Sweden
They report being raped while asleep or drunk and not being able to say no. They describe that they were awake but mentally "frozen". Others, such as a Green politician, explain that it was not until days or weeks after the attack that they realized that they had actually been raped.
Since then, there has been some sort of witch hunt in Sweden: many men were fired after leading newspapers accused them of being raped in particular, referring to allegations made by anonymous women. In part, the alleged attacks were decades back
As crazy as this coming into the privacy of the room seems - the expected public debate about it remained. All parliamentary parties have approved the law.
There is also no media debate. The media and politics are fueling each other - and whoever breaks out will be destroyed.
Almost uncanny unity of media and politics
Staffan Heimerson, a columnist for the newspaper Aftonbladet, ventured criticism : The principle of presumption of innocence until a final conviction seems to have been lifted, he wrote, referring to a "witch-hunt with features of Stalin's purges". The man was fired.
There were only against votes of lawyers: "Adult people know that you do not negotiate before every act," criticized Anne Ramberg, head of the Swedish Bar Association. It will be very difficult in legal practice to define what can be considered as an impression of voluntariness. "This is a very unclear law and there is a risk of legal uncertainty," she warns.
The government is clear, according to Löfven, that legal practice will continue to have word for word in rape cases. But she also hopes to achieve a rethinking of men with the "pedagogically intended" law. They would have to "learn" that women should not be persuaded to sex.
Schweden: Einverstandnisgesetz fordert Frage um Erlaubnis zu Sexualkontakt - WELT