Criminal Law Protection for Stalking Victims (Stalking Act)
Strafrechtlicher Schutz für Stalking-Opfer (Stalking Gesetz)
Pursuant to section 238 of the German Criminal Code, stalking has been a criminal offence since February 2007. A person pursuing another individual, thereby seriously restricting the manner in which he/she lives, is liable to a prison sentence of up to ten years.
Stalking includes seeking the physical proximity of the victim and pursuing the victim by means of communication such as letters, phone calls, e-mails or text messages. Furthermore, stalking is defined as an abuse of the victim’s name including orders for goods and services being placed in the victim’s name. Threats are likewise punishable by law.
The sentence is higher if the health of the victim, his/her relatives or people close to the victim are negatively affected, if they are placed in mortal danger or if their death is caused by stalking.
Persons acting in line with the existing press legislation do not risk a stalking prosecution. The new section 238 of the German Criminal Code (StGB) does not affect the constitutionally protected freedom of the press to cover news and procure information by regarding such activities as a criminal offence.
The new criminal offence of “stalking” as defined by section 238 of the Criminal Code (StGB) reads as follows:
§ 238 Stalking
(1) An individual pursuing another individual without authorisation by persistently
1. Seeking that individual’s physical proximity
2. Trying to establish contact to that individual by using means of telecommunication or other means of communication or by using a third party as intermediary,
3. Placing orders for goods and services by abusively using the individual’s personal data or causing third parties to establish contact with said individual,
4. Threatening the individual or someone close to said individual by causing an injury to the person’s life, physical integrity, health or freedom, or
5. Performing similar acts and causing severe restrictions to the manner in which the individual she lives, shall be sentenced to imprisonment of up to three years or to a fine.
(2) A prison sentence between three months and five years shall be handed down if the perpetrator’s acts result in mortal danger or severe injury to the health of the victim, relatives of the victim or a person close to the victim.
(3) If the acts performed by the perpetrator result in the death of the victim, relatives of the victim or a person close to the victim, this offence shall be punishable by a prison sentence of one to ten years.
(4) In the cases pursuant to subs. 1, the offence shall be prosecuted only upon application, unless the prosecuting authority is of the opinion that its ex-officio intervention is imperative due to the special public interest in the prosecution of the case.
As recidivism is included as a custody reason in Section 112a of the Code of Criminal Procedure (StPO), it will be possible in future to issue a warrant for the arrest of dangerous stalkers. In extreme circumstances, it will therefore be possible to remand dangerous perpetrators in custody to prevent serious crimes against the victim’s life and health.
