A German judge ruled recently that a woman who had claimed that two men drugged and then filmed her sexual assault her must now pay a $27,000 fine.
Gina Lisa Lohfink, the alleged victim, pressed charges in 2012 against Pardis F. and Sebastian C., saying that the two men drugged, raped her and then filmed the entire assault, reports the Washington Post. She said that they did not stop, despite her pleading with them to stop.
The judge ruled that the woman had not been saying “no” to sex, but to being filmed. According to a spokesman for the Berlin prosecutor’s office, the ruling was based on the fact that Lohfink originally only accused the men of filming and distributing the film without her consent. Only later did she accuse them of rape.
The men were fined $1500 each for filming and distributing the film while Lohfink received a $27,000 fine for a false accusation of rape.
“They are turning me from a victim into an offender,” Lohfink told Der Spiegel ’s online edition. “Do I have to be killed first? Will the legal authorities only get it then?”
Burkhard Benecken, Lohfink’s lawyer, said that his client only later accused the men of rape because her memory of the night had been fuzzy. After watching the video, she remembered more of the night.
“She didn’t say ‘No, stop filming!’ She said ‘No, no, no!’ ” Benecken said to the Washington Post. “It’s a daring theory to say that she referred to the filming. Does this mean a man can just continue without asking her what she means and later say, ‘Oh, I thought she said ‘No!’ because the music was too loud, or the light was blinding her?’ ”
German media outlets who posted and saw the video also say that in the film Lohfink repeatedly said “Stop it!” and “No!”
Women’s rights groups have criticized German rape law for not protecting rape victims. German law states that a woman saying “No” is not enough. To accuse someone of rape, she must show physical evidence that she resisted rape.
Another alleged rape case featured a pregnant woman who did not fight back out of her baby’s safety. Her alleged attacker received no punishment from the court.
“Fewer women are going to end up going to the police for help in the future if there’s a risk that their view of the incident could be turned against them,” Benecken told the Detroit Free Press.
Lohfink’s case goes for an appeal on June 27.
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