The government wants a "new crime" to penalize any sexual penetration on a 15 year old minor

The government said on Tuesday that it was "in

favor

" of any act of sexual penetration committed by an adult on a minor under the age of 15 now automatically constitutes a crime, without it being possible to question the consent of the victim.

Read also: Could we make sex crimes imprescriptible?

It is the “

turning point

” of society on these questions which “

leads us to change the law

”, underlined on France 2 the Minister of Justice Eric Dupond-Moretti, who with his colleague in charge of Children and Families , Adrien Taquet, had been commissioned in January by Emmanuel Macron to "

develop proposals

" on these subjects.

"

We are in the process of cracking this kind of leaden cover, in particular ideological, which prohibited the words of the victims to be released

", noted the Minister of Justice.

Consequently, the government is "in

favor of defining a new crime, that is to say that any act of sexual penetration committed by an adult on a 15-year-old minor is a crime,

" Adrien Taquet said on Europe 1. It is a question of ensuring "

equal treatment of all the minor victims

" and to remove the concept of "

constraint exerted by the aggressor, which constitutes today a brake

", specified his cabinet in a communicated.

Currently, a conviction for rape or sexual assault supposes that the judges demonstrate the absence of consent through the notions of "

violence, threat, constraint or surprise

".

To read also: Does French justice fight enough against recidivism in sexual crimes?

However, the government wishes to introduce an exception in case the two protagonists have a small age difference, because "

the young man of 17 and a half who has a relationship with a girl of 14 and a half cannot become a criminal when he's 18 years old

, ”explained the Minister of Justice.

It will also be necessary that "

it can be shown that the author knew the age of the victim

", he added.

A sliding prescription mechanism

The government also wants to adopt a new legal mechanism, known as "

sliding prescription

", in order to ensure that all victims of the same perpetrator can benefit from a trial, said the two ministers.

With the current law, it frequently happens that only the latest victim of the same perpetrator can testify as a civil party in the bar of a court, while "

the others are there only as witnesses

", because the facts concerning them are prescribed, which is "

not bearable

", according to Mr. Taquet.

With the new legal device proposed, "

the second crime committed on a minor by the same author, the limitation period of the first is interrupted and all crimes can thus be tried

", explained his office.

To have these provisions adopted, the government intends to act "

very quickly

", by supporting either the bill recently adopted at first reading in the Senate, or another similar proposal to be debated next week in the National Assembly.

To read also: The government wants a “new crime” to penalize any sexual penetration on a minor of 15 years

Regarding the prescription, some associations demanded that the law go even further and that sexual crimes against minors become imprescriptible - they are currently prescribed 30 years after the majority of the victim.

Such a suggestion is "

to be taken with great care,

" said Adrien Taquet, noting that the associations were "

divided

" on this point, and that "

a certain number of victims speak once the prescription has passed

", because "

That's what has a trigger for them

."

However, even when the facts are prescribed, the Minister of Justice announced that he would ask the prosecutors to systematically open an investigation when suspicions of sexual assault on minors are brought to their attention, so that "

the victim can express a number of things

”.

On the other hand, the executive did not decide on its position on a possible specific criminalization of incest - a point, again, which certain associations for the defense of victims are demanding, but which does not achieve consensus.