According to the dictionary, rape means an unlawful sexual intercourse or any other sexual penetration of the vagina, anus, or mouth of another person, with or without force, by a sex organ, other body part, or foreign object, without the consent of the victim.
1. India: Life imprisonment to death sentence
After the Anti Rape Bill of April 2013, culprits are liable to life imprisonment (which is actually 14 years), imprisonment for entire life and even the death sentence in the rarest of rare cases. The amendment also expanded to include a lot of other kinds of sexual assault that amount to rape.
2. France: 15 years to life
The French are pretty hardcore about their rape laws. They hand out 15 year sentences for rape, which can be extended to 30 or life depending on the extent of damage and brutality.
3. China: Death sentence or castration
The sentence for rape in China is death, which some might laud for their swiftness. However, execution without a proper trial is just as savage. Proof of their autocratic leadership shows in the fact that some convicted rapists who were executed were later found innocent. Castration is also used in some cases.
4. Saudi Arabia: Beheading within days
The punishment for rape in Saudi Arabia is a public beheading after administering the rapist with a sedative. The fact that they hand down the same punishment for drug trafficking as well proves that something very wrong is ingrained in their system.
5. North Korea: Death by firing squad
This dictatorship sentences rapists to death by firing squad. Their lines of justice are so blurred that for all we know, they just use this as a cover up to execute dissidents.
6. Afghanistan: Shot in the head or hanged to death
Convicted rapists here are shot in the head within 4 days or hanged to death depending on the judgement handed out by the court.
7. Egypt: Death by hanging
Egypt is also one of the places that still follows the slightly outdated mode of death by hanging. In the case of rapists though, I think that’s pretty ok.
8. Iran: Hanged to death
Rapists in Iran are sentenced to death, sometimes by hanging but sometimes allegedly also by stoning, which is a gruesome method to go. Sadly enough however, the culture here also ends up victimising the person who was raped however.
9. Israel: 16 years to life
If someone is convicted of raping a women, he is liable to be sentenced to 16 years in prison. Their definition of rape is quite inclusive and takes into account other forms of sexual assault.
10. USA: Imprisonment for life
The usual sentence for a convicted rapist here depends on whether the trial falls under state or federal law. In cases under federal law, the punishments can range from a few years to imprisonment for the entirety of the rapist’s life span.
11. Russia: 3 to 20 years
Rapists in Russia are usually sentenced to 3-6 years in prison. The jail term can go up to more than 10 years depending on the situation, such as if the person causes grievous harm and can be even higher (20 years) if it’s a rare case.
12. Norway: 4 to 15 years
They are one of the most stringent places with regard to rape. Any kind of sexual behaviour without consent falls under the category of rape here, and the perpetrator can be thrown in jail for a period of 4-15 years depending on how heinous the crime was. They have such nice prisons though!
