From drugs slipped into a glass to needle-spiking: why Belgium is now more severe

The new criminal code provides for a 15-year prison sentence for anyone who drugs someone without their knowledge. Explanations.

Since Tuesday, anyone who puts drugs in someone else’s drink without their knowledge will be sentenced to 15 years in prison. This modus operandi is now assimilated to rape, as provided for in the new penal code which had not been reformed since… 1867.

Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne (Open VLD) has decided to tackle sexual offenses as a priority, putting the notion of consent at the heart of the reform. If the sexual majority remains fixed at 16 years, the new penal code provides that there can be no consent below 14 years. Below this age, any sexual act will be considered as rape.