The French parliament has ratified an amendment to add consent to the legal definition of sexual assault and rape law.
Previously, rape or sexual abuse in France had been defined as any form of sexual penetration committed with the use of violence, coercion, threat or surprise. Now, the law will say that all sexual acts done to another without consent constitute rape.
The change is the result of a cross-party, years-long debate which gained renewed urgency after last year's Pelicot rape trial, wherein 50 men were found guilty of raping Gisèle Pelicot while she had been drugged unconscious by her husband Dominique.
The defence of many of the accused hinged on the argument that they could not be guilty of rape because they were unaware Ms Pelicot was not in a position to give her consent. Some defence lawyers in the Pelicot case argued that there could be no crime without the intention to commit it.
The new bill will make this argument more tenuous, as it states that consent must be free and informed, specific, prior and revocable. The law now says consent must be evaluated according to the circumstances, emphasizing that it cannot be inferred from silence or lack of reaction.
There is no consent if the sexual act is committed through violence, coercion, threat or surprise, whatever their nature, it states.
The two MPs who drafted the amendment, the Greens' Marie-Charlotte Garin and centrist Véronique Riotton, declared it a historic victory and hailed it as a major step forward in the fight against sexual violence.
Some critics of the amendment expressed concerns that it could reduce sexual relations to contracts and make it harder for victims to prove lack of consent. However, France's highest administrative court, the Council of State (Conseil d'État), endorsed the amendment in March, agreeing that it clarifies that sexual assaults infringe upon the fundamental principle of everyone's personal and sexual freedom.
This essential update in law was initially adopted by the National Assembly in April but faced delays due to political turmoil in France. Ultimately, the Senate adopted the bill with 327 votes in favor and 15 abstentions before it was back in parliament for final approval.
Last year, Greens senator Mélanie Vogel emphasized the societal consensus that consent distinguishes sex from rape but argued that criminal law had not kept pace. This is a historic step forward, following in the footsteps of several other European countries, commented Lola Schulmann, advocacy officer at Amnesty International France. Countries like Sweden, Germany, and Spain have already established consent-based rape laws.
