The current limitation period for reporting rape is ten years after the incident for an adult, and ten years after the perpetrator comes of age if the perpetrator was underage at the time of the incident (or later if ordered by a judge). In the response, Braz revealed that the limitation period for rape could be extended.
Whilst Clement proposed extending the limitation period to 30 years, the minister left the exact time framework up for debate. Braz referred back to the coalition agreement, which recommended evaluated and reviewing limitation periods in a coherent framework.
Incidentally, Braz provided statistics on the number of incidents of rape reported to the police. In the last few years, the number of rape incidents reported to the police has dropped. In 2016, 106 incidents were reported (nearly half as many as in 2015), which then dropped to 84 in 2017, and 76 in 2018.
Even though this represents an improvement in terms of formal reports, the minister stressed that these statistics need to be interpreted with caution - there are many victims who may not be ready to willing to come forwards and pursue charges.
