“Only a yes is a yes”, decided the Spanish Minister for Equality, Irene Montero.
Thursday, May 26, the country's deputies approved a text - with 201 votes for, 140 against - aimed at toughening the law against rape by introducing a notion of "explicit consent".
If the edict must now be definitively adopted by the Senate, this already places Spain at the forefront of the fight against sexual violence.
“Today is a great day for all women.
We owe it to all victims of sexual violence and thus leave a better present and future for our daughters, sisters and friends, ”welcomed the politician on Twitter.
Indeed, this new text intends to put an end to the differentiation between abuse and sexual assault, by condemning any act without consent.
Until now, aggression was defined according to the degree of violence and intimidation on the part of the aggressor.
Thus, this new bill "makes clear the fact that silence or passivity does not mean consent"
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explained the government spokesperson, María Jesús Montero, during the presentation of the text in the Council of Ministers, the July 6 last.
In addition, the text also aims to create an offense of street harassment.
In video, sexualities and consent: the gray area
Case of "The Meute"
This proposal follows a controversy that arose after the so-called "La Meute" affair.
In 2016, five men were sentenced to just nine years in prison for abusing an 18-year-old woman, not gang rape.
This because she had not clearly displayed her refusal by saying “no”.
After the rumble and the numerous demonstrations which had flocked throughout the country, the facts had finally been reclassified as rape in 2019.
In France, the definition of rape still does not mention consent.
According to the Penal Code, it is considered only as any act of sexual penetration or oral-genital act which contains coercion, threat or surprise.