Article 133 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Current edition for 2021, comments and judicial practice

1. Forcing a person to have sexual intercourse, sodomy, lesbianism or commit other acts of a sexual nature by blackmail, threats of destruction, damage or confiscation of property or using the financial or other dependence of the victim (victim) -

shall be punishable by a fine in the amount of up to one hundred twenty thousand rubles, or in the amount of the wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of up to one year, or by compulsory labor for a term of up to four hundred eighty hours, or by corrective labor for a term of up to two years, or by forced labor for a term of up to one year. years, or imprisonment for the same period.

2. The same act committed against a minor (minor) -

shall be punishable by forced labor for a term of up to five years with deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for a term of up to three years or without it, or imprisonment for a term of up to five years with deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for a term of up to three years, or without one.

Article 132. Violent acts of a sexual nature
Article 134. Sexual intercourse and other actions of a sexual nature with a person under sixteen years of age

Commentary to Art. 133 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation

The main object of this crime is the sexual freedom of the individual. An additional object may be the honor and dignity of the individual, property relations. Victims can be both female and male.

The objective side of the crime is expressed in compulsion to have sexual intercourse, sodomy, lesbianism or commit other acts of a sexual nature through blackmail, threats of destruction, damage or confiscation of property, or using the financial or other dependence of the victims.

Coercion should be understood as mental influence on the victim (victim) in order to force her (him) to enter into sexual contact with the perpetrator against her will. Mental influence in the form of a threat to use violence against victims is not covered by the crime under consideration and is subject to qualification under Art. Art. 131 or 132 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Coercion can be carried out in any form: oral, written, using means of communication, etc. It can be committed directly against the victim (victim) or brought to their attention through third parties.

Coercion can be expressed both in actions and in passive behavior of the perpetrator. It may consist of placing the victim in such conditions under which she is forced to engage in sexual contact to prevent harm to her legitimate interests. This especially applies to cases of coercion using financial or other dependence.

Blackmail as a method of committing this crime means the threat of disclosing information that compromises the victim, or information that she would like to hide, for example, information about real or fictitious diseases of a venereal, oncological and other nature.

Disclosure is the transmission of true or false information to at least one third party.

Actions that characterize the victim negatively from the point of view of morality and law are considered compromising.

The threat of destruction, damage or confiscation of property is a mental influence. The threat may concern all or part of the property. Its loss must significantly affect the material interests of the victims in order to act as a serious motivating factor in resolving the issue of sexual contact that is unwanted for them.

The implementation of any of these threats is subject to independent qualification under articles on crimes against property in conjunction with Art. 133 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Financial dependence is possible when the victim is dependent on the perpetrator (full or partial), receives subsidies from him and this source is the main income of the victim.

Other dependence presupposes all other types of dependence that do not fall under the concept considered, for example, dependence at work or at work (dependence of a subordinate on a boss, a student on a teacher, etc.).

The crime is considered completed from the moment the actions themselves are performed under compulsion by any of those named in Art. 133 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The corpus delicti is formal. For the completion of the crime, it does not matter whether the perpetrator achieved his goal or not.

The subjective side is characterized by direct intent. The perpetrator realizes that, by blackmailing or using the victim’s official, material or other dependence on him, he obtains from him consent to commit acts of a sexual nature and desires it.

The subject of the crime is common. They are both male and female persons who have reached the age of sixteen.

Definition of the concept

Sexual harassment at work is not only coercion on the part of the rapist to perform sexual intercourse, not only exposing them to a threat, which leaves two choices: to submit to the desire of the attacker or to suffer serious (including murder) consequences of his refusal. This includes anecdotes, “greasy” jokes, touches, hints - everything that a well-mannered, highly moral person cannot afford. And even more so in the work collective.

Both women and men in their workplace have the right to expect that their superiors and other employees adhere to certain standards that exclude any sexual behavior.

What is the main characteristic of the term? Sexual harassment at work is all actions by a boss or colleagues that are undesirable and unacceptable for a particular victim. In other words, this concept is individual for each victim. Therefore, seemingly innocent signs of attention - flowers, phone calls, love notes, compliments - can also be considered harassment.

Judicial practice under Article 133 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation

Appeal ruling of the Judicial Collegium for Military Personnel of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated 05.08.2019 N 205-APU19-23
Yusupov Shamil Abulmuslimovich, ..., tried on April 10, 2014 by the Kizlyar District Court of the Republic of Dagestan under Part 2 of Art. 133 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation to imprisonment for a period of 2 (two) years in a penal colony (released after serving his sentence on August 28, 2015, the criminal record was not expunged or expunged),

Appeal ruling of the Appeal Board of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated December 15, 2020 N APL20-456

accused of committing crimes under paragraph “b” of Part 4 of Art. 132, paragraph “b”, part 4, art. 132, paragraph “b”, part 4, art. 131, paragraph “b”, part 4, art. 132, paragraph “b”, part 4, art. 131, art. 133, paragraph “b”, part 4, art. 132 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation;

Determination of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation dated September 28, 2021 N 2060-O

In addition, as the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation explained in resolution dated December 4, 2014 N “On judicial practice in cases of crimes against sexual integrity and sexual freedom of the individual,” those with a criminal record for a previously committed crime against the sexual integrity of a minor include persons with an outstanding conviction or not expunged in the prescribed manner for any of the crimes committed against minors provided for in parts three to five of Article 131, parts three to five of Article 132, part two of Article 133, articles 134, 135 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (clause 14).

Determination of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation dated September 28, 2021 N 2086-O

Resolution of the Presidium of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated October 20, 2021 N 80P21

By the resolution of the investigator for especially important cases of the department for the investigation of crimes of a terrorist nature of the crime investigation department of the Prosecutor's Office of the Chechen Republic dated January 3, 2006, based on the results of consideration of Ch.'s application regarding her son, M.M. Chudalov. the initiation of a criminal case against employees of the Leninsky District Department of Internal Affairs of the city of Grozny for exceeding their official powers was refused due to the lack of corpus delicti provided for in paragraphs “a”, “b” of Part 3 of Art. 286 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The initiation of a criminal case against the investigator of the prosecutor's office of the Leninsky district of Grozny G. on the fact that he committed compulsion to acts of a sexual nature was refused due to the lack of corpus delicti under Art. 133 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Types of sexual harassment at work

The subject of our conversation can be represented in several categories. Sexual harassment at work is classified into the following types:

Verbal. Hints, threats, jokes, anecdotes, insults, suggestions that have a sexual connotation.
Nonverbal. Whistling, interjections, obscene sounds and gestures. Some even include meaningful glances here.
Physical. These are various touches, hugs, pinching, stroking, which can lead to forced sexual intercourse or even rape.

What should the victim do?

You know there is an article about sexual harassment. But what to do if you had to face the problem personally? Under no circumstances should you endure or try to figure it out on your own or through friends and acquaintances!

The solution here is to apply to one of these authorities:

Regional branch of the State Labor Inspectorate. Be prepared to present here significant evidence in your favor - video, photo, audio materials, testimony of colleagues. But if the fact is confirmed, then the institution has the right to dismiss even a high-ranking offender.
Judicial authorities. If you are making a complaint regarding sexual harassment by your boss, then be prepared to present along with your statement also confirmation in the form of clear evidence of guilt. The courts are most often approached if your refusal led to the imposition of a penalty or dismissal.
Law enforcement system. Unfortunately, the police are reluctant to handle such cases. But it's still worth applying.

Anti-weapon against the offender

As a rule, threats of dismissal or loss of bonus (especially from the boss) in most cases are ordinary intimidation, which is best ignored. If you are officially employed, then he is not authorized to do any of the above:

A citizen can be dismissed only if he has violated the conditions listed in Art. 81 Labor Code. Any other dismissals are declared illegal in court. The victim is reinstated and compensated for material damage.
Deprivation of a bonus is difficult. According to Art. 32 of the same Labor Code is obvious discrimination against the employee.
What about the salary reduction? It is possible only upon transfer to another position and only with the written consent of the employee (Article 72 of the Labor Code).

But if the victim is employed informally, such protection, unfortunately, is closed to him. The only way out is to bring the offender to justice under Art. 133 of the Russian Criminal Code.

What applies to sexual harassment at work, what laws protect the victim, how to defend your violated rights in this case is important for everyone to know. Every citizen has the right to a healthy, friendly and comfortable environment at work.

Harassment or flirting?

Since each of us is individual, including in terms of moral education, it is very difficult to determine a general scale on which one or another example can really be unambiguously called impermissible. Some may find the joke funny, others may find it offensive. Some people are used to hugging an acquaintance when they meet, but for some it is obscene. Some people are happy to receive a love letter from a colleague they like, others find it insulting.

However, the victim always has valid reasons for accusing him of sexual harassment:

The victim feels the inappropriateness of the rapist’s behavior, feels aggression and frightening persistence in the latter’s actions.
The victim occupies a subordinate position in relation to the offender.
Direct or hidden demand for the provision of “sexual services” as a condition of employment or career advancement.
The victim’s consent or refusal becomes decisive for the latter regarding employment and position in the team.
The purpose of the offender’s actions is to create difficult conditions in the workplace for the victim in the event of his refusal, to affect labor productivity, general mood, and performance.