On Wednesday, French MPs approved a bill that defines rape as any sexual act without the consent of the participant. TASR informs about it according to the report of the AFP agency. The bill was approved by the lower house of parliament last week. After the French Senate backed him in a final vote on Wednesday, the criminal code will now enshrine the principle of consent in the definition of the crime of rape.
According to MP Véronique Riotton, who co-authored the bill, the new text signals a transition “from rape culture to consent culture”. Consent, as stated in the text, must be “free and informed, specific, prior and revocable” and evaluated on a case-by-case basis. It is emphasized that it cannot be inferred from “silence or absence of response”. “Consent does not exist if the sexual act is committed through violence, coercion, threats or surprise – regardless of its nature,” the text also states.
Groups representing the rights of rape victims welcomed the reform, but at the same time warned that it must be accompanied by deeper social changes. “Je is a historic step forward, which follows the steps of several other European countries,Lola Schulmann, a lawyer from Amnesty International in France, told AFP. “It’s just one step and we know that we still have a long way to go to end impunity for gender-based and sexual violence,” she added.
The women’s rights group CIDFF called for it to be reform accompanied by an improvement in the level of sexual education, by training police and justice officials and increasing resources for support organizations. The bill comes at a time when the case of Gisèle Pelicot has reignited in France the debate about consent during sexual intercourse. Her ex-husband was convicted of drugging her during their marriage and inviting dozens of strange men to rape her.
Non-consensual rape laws already exist in other European countries, including Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden.
