Failure to
provide assistance to rape victim in Cologne, Germany, 15 December 2012
On 15 December 2012 in
Cologne, Germany, two Catholic clinics rejected assisting a suspected rape
victim in providing a gynaecological check-up for reasons claimed to be related
to the ethics rules and procedures governing the hospitals which fall under the
authority of the Catholic hierarchy in Germany. The 25 year old young woman
woke up on a bench in a public park after having been drugged at a party she
attended in Cologne with no memory of what happened in the intervening hours.
With her mother, she went to a general practitioner who suspected that the
young woman could have been the victim of rape/sexual assault. The general
practitioner prescribed emergency contraception which standard practice under
German law in cases of rape/sexual assault, thus providing the young woman the
ability to exercise her right to decide according to her own convictions
whether to carry through or interrupt a possible pregnancy resulting from the
sexual assault. After informing the police and in order to investigate possible
criminal acts the general practitioner contacted two nearby hospitals for
further medical testing, ie. conducting a ‘rape-kit’ – these were
St.Vinzenz-Krankenhaus in Cologne-Nord and Heilig-Geist-Krankenhaus in
Longerich (both happen to belong to the Foundation of Cellitinnen of Holy
Maria).
However, both hospitals
rejected the check-up of the suspected rape victim. Their Ethics Commissions
has held consultations with Catholic Church authorities, after which the
decision was taken to rule out such gynaecological check-ups in such cases
since they are connected with a possible unwanted pregnancy as well as
providing the victim with emergency contraception. The refusal to provide
medical treatment based on Catholic ethics was maintained by the two hospitals
even after the general practitioner clarified that he had already provided the
suspected rape victim with the emergency contraception (which the Catholic
hospitals would therefore not have had to provide).
In Germany, failure to
provide assistance to person in danger (unterlassene Hilfeleistung) is an
offense according to paragraph 323c of the Strafgesetzbuch.
Can the Committee of
Ministers:
-
state whether such
actions by the Catholic hospitals in Cologne are in line with both the letter
and the spirit of the laws in relation to the protection of victims of sexual
assault/rape, specifically paragraph 323c of the Strafgesetzbuch?
-
state whether it is
known how many hospitals / health centres may be able legally circumvent
national laws in relation to the protection and assistance to victims of sexual
assault based on so-called ‘ethical’ grounds in Council of Europe Member
states?
-
State whether the
public at large as well as victims’ associations and women’s groups should be
informed in advance of all such hospitals / health centres in Council of Europe
Member states which may legally be allowed to circumvent national laws in
relation to the protection and assistance to victims of sexual assault based on
so-called ‘ethical’ grounds so that they may be able to better guide victims of
sexual assault/rape?
Carina Hägg (S) MP Sweden
