Lawmakers in France on Wednesday joined other European nations by passing a new consent-based law redefining rape as any sexual act that occurs without consent.
The law, which was passed in France’s Senate by a vote of 327-0 with 15 abstentions, says consent must be “freely given, informed, specific, prior and revocable,” adding that it cannot be inferred through “silence or lack of reaction.”
The bill states that “any non-consensual sexual act constitutes sexual assault.”
Until now, rape under French law was solely defined as penetration or oral sex using “violence, coercion, threat or surprise,” which the new law says negate any concept of consent.
What politicians and women’s advocacy groups say about France’s new rape law
Centrist lawmaker Veronique Riotton, a co-sponsor of the bill, said its passage signaled a step away “from a culture of rape to a culture of consent.”
“This is a historic step forward, following in the footsteps of several other European countries,” said Lola Schulmann, advocacy officer at Amnesty International France, adding, “but it is only one step, because we know that there is still a long way to go to end impunity for gender-based and sexual violence.”
Other advocacy groups, such as women’s rights organization CIDFF, have additionally called for improved sex education, as well as special training for police and investigators and augmented resources for support groups.
Consent-based rape laws exist in Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden.
The bill was passed last week by the National Assembly, the lower house of the French parliament. Only far-right lawmakers in the National Assembly voted against the bill, saying its changes to the definition of consent were “subjective, shifting and difficult to grasp.”
Why did France change its rape laws now?
The new bill was presented in January, weeks after convictions were handed down in the biggest sexual abuse case to rock the country in decades.
In December, the world was witness to a glaringly public trial that involved the serial rape of Gisele Pelicot at the hands of her now ex-husband, Dominique Pelicot.
Gisele Pelicot’s horrific ordeal shocked the nation and shined a light on how pornography, internet chat rooms and misogynist attitudes toward consent fuel rape culture.
In the trial, Dominique Pelicot was convicted for having repeatedly drugged his wife, Gisele, and inviting some 50 men to rape her between 2011 and 2020.
Dominique Pelicot was sentenced to 20 years in prison for his crimes, while the other men received sentences ranging from three to 15 years.
One of the convicted men appealed the verdict, only to receive a harsher 10-year sentence.
Edited by Sean Sinico
