German parliament passes ‘no means no’ rape legislation after Cologne attacks

German MPs have passed a bill that will make it easier for victims of sex crimes to file criminal complaints if they rejected their attacker’s advances with a clear “no”.

The law currently requires victims to show that they physically resisted attack before charges for rape and other sexual assaults can be brought.

Germany’s minister for women, Manuela Schwesig, said: “In the past there were cases where women were raped but the perpetrators couldn’t be punished.