The definition of rape divides even the European Union (EU).
In France, France Insoumise (LFI) will table a bill aimed at integrating the notion of consent into the criminal definition of the offenses of sexual assault and rape, announced this Tuesday the LFI MP for Paris, Sarah Legrain.
Macron, along with Orban, blocks the European directive against violence against women by refusing to include rape.
A shame !
The Assembly must take up the subject.
I am submitting a bill to integrate the notion of consent into the criminal definition of rape.
pic.twitter.com/FRb4D6D69P
— Sarah Legrain 🌿 (@S_Legrain) February 6, 2024
Pointing out "French failures in the treatment of sexual violence", Sarah Legrain accuses "the current definition of rape and its interpretation" of being "one of the reasons why there are many classifications without follow-up today in France, notably cases of astonishment, dissociation or control”.
“I want to submit a legal, political and very symbolic act,” she added during a press conference.
“Prudence” from the Minister of Justice
La France insoumise wants to integrate into article 222-23 of the Penal Code which defines rape, the term “consent” which “cannot be deduced from the simple absence of resistance of the victim”.
A bill to integrate the notion of consent had already been tabled in the fall by environmentalist senator Mélanie Vogel.
Also read: European definition of rape: five minutes to understand why France is opposed to it
Last week, Justice Minister Éric Dupond-Moretti called for “caution” in the face of calls for a review of the criminal definition of rape in France, warning against a “slide towards contractualization of relationships sexual”.
“Is it the role of criminal law to define the consent of a victim, instead of focusing on defining the responsibility of a criminal?
» he declared in particular.