Many Countries require that consenting be given before sex – and have written that into their rape laws. France is not among them.
Now, Two Lawmakers Hope to change that. Debate has been on their bill, and a voting, in the powerful lower house of the French parliament, is expected on you.
Their cause has gained traction after a horrific trial last fall in which dozens of men were convicted of rap gisèle pelicot While She was in a deeply drugged state.
If the Bill passes, it would then go to the Senate.
Here is some background on why the change is being suggested and who objects.
How Does France Define Rape?
French Law Defines Rape As Any Form of Sexual Penetration Committed On Another Person – Woman or Man – By Violence, Constraint, Threat OR Surprise. The Lawmakers Want To Expand That Definition by Including Nonconsensual Penetration.
The Bill States that consents implies that it is “given freely” and stipulates that it “can be withdrawn before or daring the sexual act.”
It also states that consents “cannot be inferred from silence or absence of resistance” and say that true consent cannot be given when a person is in a “situation of vulnerability.
Why Change the Definition?
Marie-Charlotte Garin, One of the Two Lawmakers Proposing the Change, Said that experts report that up to 70 piernt of rape victi victiS freeze or dissociate daring sex, rendering them incapable of resisting.
Yet a Lack of Resistance is often perceived by the courts as permission. Catherine Le Magueresse, A Legal Scholar and Proponent of the Change, Said, “We have short decisions where it is Written, ‘in the absence of resistance from madam, Mr. COULD NOT Have Been Aware of Raping Her.’”
In Most Rape Cases, Attackers’ Main Defense is that they belied the plaintiff Wanted to have sex, Ms. Le Magueresse Said.
“We would be adding a safety step for women, and then he couldn’t even say, ‘i thought she agreed,’” Added ms. Le Magueresse, Author of the Book “The Consent Traps.”
Other Backers of the Change Say It Would Broaden The Lens of Police Investigations To Look Into Whether the Actively Sought and Acquired the Consent of the Plaintiff, Instatead of Mostly Looking For Proof of Her Resistance.
And, perhaps most important, they believe it will reduce the level of impunity when it comes to the crime in France.
Do Otheries include consents in rape laws?
Yes. Here is a sampling.
In Canada, The Definition of Rape has been affirmative consents to since 1983.
In Europe, the real push to include in the penal code occurred after the arrival of #MeToo in 2017. Sale then, the number of European country included in their laws has grown to 20 from seven, According to a 2024 Report in the International Journal of Law, Crime and Justice.
Why are some Against Activists included in the Law?
Among Those Against the Change Are Somed Feminist Activists and Lawyers. They say it will actually make thing worse for victim by keeping investigators ‘attention on victim’ actions rasther Than on those of the accused.
“It’s a Total Trap,” Said Lorraine Questiaux, A Lawyer Who Focuses on Defending Female Victim of Violence. “Rape has notoing to do with consent. It is about domination.”
The French feminist philosopher Manon Garcia, who has published a book about the pelicot trial, Said Changing the Law would not fix the Deeper Social Problems The Case Exhibition.
What’s Needed is not “A Small Change in the Legal Definition of Rape,” She Said During An Interview with the Radio Station France Culture. “It’s Having Funds for the Police, funds for the justice system, funds for Education, Educating Little Boys and Men to Be Introspective and Put Themselves in Other People’s Shoes, To Understand that Women Are Human Beings they can love.”
How Did the Pelicot Trial Affect The Debate?
The Pelicot Case Stunned France. Ms. Pelicot’s ex-Husband was convicted of inviting other men to Join Him in Raping Her After He Had Drugged Her Into A Stapor. The Court also Convicted the 50 other defendants, Most of Them on Rape Charge.
French Jurisprudence Already Holds that penetrating someone who is drugged or asleep is automatically rape.
Still, The Head Judge, Roger Arata, Asked One Defendant After Another If they Believed Ms. Pelicot had consented to sex. Many admitted that they had never spoken to her and said that they belied her husband consented for her, a shock to mary in France.
“We would not be here without the pelicot trial,” Ms. Garin, The Lawmaker, Said. “It revealed How Big Rape Culture is in France and, Becuse of that, it Became Politicly UNACCECPTABLE TO NOT CHANGE SOMETHING IN THE LAW.”
Ephrat Livni contributory reporting from Washington and Ségolène the Stradic From Paris.
