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, in which 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 fact 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 had therefore argued that there could be no crime without the intention to commit it.
The new bill makes this argument more tenuous, stating that consent must be free and informed, specific, prior and revocable. It emphasizes that consent cannot be inferred from silence or lack of reaction, explicitly declaring that there is no consent if the sexual act is committed through violence, coercion, threat or surprise, whatever their nature.
The two MPs who drafted the amendment - the Greens' Marie-Charlotte Garin and centrist Véronique Riotton - described it as a historic victory and a major step forward in the fight against sexual violence.
Some critics of the amendment voiced concerns over turning sexual relations into contracts and that it could force victims of rape to prove lack of consent.
However, France's highest administrative court, the Council of State (Conseil d'État), backed the amendment, stating that it would clearly express that sexual assaults infringe upon personal and sexual freedom.
An initial version was adopted by the National Assembly in April but faced delays due to political turmoil. On Wednesday, the Senate adopted the bill with 327 votes in favor and 15 abstentions, leading to its final approval.
Last year, Greens senator Mélanie Vogel noted that while society had already accepted that consent differentiates sex from rape, criminal law had not kept pace with this understanding. Lola Schulmann, advocacy officer at Amnesty International France, echoed this sentiment, stating that this amendment aligns France with several other European countries that are already implementing consent-based rape laws.
Countries like Sweden, Germany, and Spain have managed to navigate similar changes, bolstering the fight against sexual violence and ensuring personal autonomy in sexual relationships.
