Justice minister agrees to revisit rape definition amid outcry

Justice Minister Mihalis Kalogirou announced a "legislative improvement" of a controversial definition of rape included in a reformed penal code which the government introduced in Parliament this week, following an outcry by women's groups, Amnesty International and even female SYRIZA lawmakers.
The new bill stipulates that rape is a crime but also refers to "lesser forms of coercion" as misdemeanors carrying a sentence of as little as three years.
"In consultation with the members of the legislative committees [there will be] a legislative improvement in paragraph 5, in order to achieve a proper balancing of the crime and any other behavior," he told lawmakers on Thursday.

He did not specify what kind of changes he would make.
Amnesty International has denounced the new definition of rape as "unacceptable."
The group took issue with Article 336 of the...