Pornography and Sexual Self-Determination
Principles of Law and Jurisprudence
Final Report Abstract
The research project 'Pornography and sexual self-determination' was focused on a critique of the German criminal law on pornography. The aim was to develop a regulatory concept for dealing with sexual images that does not moralize but rather ensures sexual self-determination. More recent phenomena were taken into account, such as image-based sexual abuse and the unsolicited sending of dick pics as a form of sexual harassment. The argumentation was developed on the basis of an interdisciplinary approach, including findings from cultural studies and sexual science, the results of porn studies and of empirical research on the effects and use of pornography as well as the findings of empirical research on image-based sexual abuse and sexual harassment. Particular emphasis was placed on a differentiated approach, which on the one hand reflects the importance of the production and use of sexual content for personal sexual development and on the other hand includes the dangers and injuries that can be associated with ist production and use for personal development. It was shown that the criminal law on pornography is still partly moralizing and is too largely tied to the protection against the perception of pornographic content. In particular, too little importance is attached to the violation of the personal rights of adults who are unauthorized depicted in a sexual manner (image-based sexual abuse). The right to sexual self-determination has been concretized to cover the injuries and dangers that can result from dealing with sexual content. This led to the proposal to no longer use the vague and moralizing term of pornography in legal texts and to re-systematize the criminal law regulation of dealing with sex-related content. In particular, it was proposed to create a new regulatory complex outside of the traditional criminal law on pornography to adequately capture image-based sexual abuse. Comprehensive guidelines have been developed for this purpose. In addition, the age limit for voluntary access by minors to sexually explicit content can be lowered to 16 years if it depicts consensual sexual acts without discriminatory gender stereotypes. Furthermore, a legislative proposal was made for a criminal offence of sexual harassment.
Publications
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Der strafrechtliche Schutz der sexuellen Selbstbestimmung vor nicht-körperlichen Beeinträchtigungen. JuristenZeitung, 77(10), 502-511.
Burghardt, Boris; Steinl, Leonie & Schmidt, Anja
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Kritik des Pornographiestrafrechts am Maßstab gleicher sexueller Selbstbestimmung. Gender & Crime, 42-54. Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG.
Schmidt, Anja
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Zur Begründung eines Rechts auf sexuelle Bildung. Sexuelle Bildung für das Lehramt, 27-46. Psychosozial-Verlag.
Schmidt, Anja
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Gesetzesvorschlag zur Regelung sexueller Belästigung, Kriminalpolitische Zeitschrift 2023, S. 235-241 (Open Access)
Schmidt, Anja
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Bildbasierte sexuelle Gewalt – Zum Reformbedarf im deutschen Strafrecht, in: Burghardt / Schmidt / Steinl (Hrsg.), Sexuelle Selbstbestimmung jenseits des Körperlichen, Tübingen 2024, S. 181-199 (Open Access)
Schmidt, Anja
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Sexuelle Selbstbestimmung jenseits des Körperlichen. Mohr Siebeck.
Burghardt, Boris; Steinl, Leonie & Schmidt, Anja (Eds.)
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The Abuse of Sexual Images between Liberal Criminal Law and the Protection of Sexual Autonomy. Criminalizing Intimate Image Abuse, 103-120. Oxford University PressOxford.
Schmidt, Anja
