France Enshrines Consent in Rape Legislation 

French senators passed changes to France’s rape law this week to add consent to the legal definition of sexual assault and rape, a move spurred by a mass rape trial last year that outraged many in the country, Reuters reported.  

Until now, rape or sexual abuse was defined by French law as “any form of sexual penetration committed with the use of violence, coercion, threat or surprise,” the BBC noted.  

Under the amended law, all sexual acts performed on another person without consent amount to rape.  

An initial version of the amendment was adopted by the National Assembly in April, but was delayed. On Wednesday, the Senate adopted the bill, with 327 votes in favor and 15 abstentions. The law is pending President Emmanuel Macron’s signature to take effect. 

The change stems from a cross-party, years-long debate that gained new urgency following a notorious and widely followed rape trial last year, in which 50 men were convicted of sexually assaulting or raping French woman, Gisèle Pelicot, while she was drugged into unconsciousness by her husband, Dominique Pelicot. 

Many of the accused based their defense on the argument that they could not be guilty of rape, as they said they were not aware that Pelicot was not in a condition to give her consent.

The new law could weaken these kinds of arguments by specifying that consent must be “free and informed, specific, prior, and revocable,” and cannot be assumed from “silence or lack of reaction.”  

Legal experts said the new measure would make securing convictions easier. Previously, they added, rapists could not be convicted unless they used violence, coercion, threat, or surprise. 

Critics of the law have expressed concern that it could turn sexual encounters into “contracts” and might force rape victims to prove the lack of consent. Some women’s rights activists had warned that focusing on consent could shift scrutiny onto the victim’s behavior rather than on the attacker.  

The passage of this amendment makes France’s legislation more aligned with other European countries. Sweden, Germany, and Spain are among those that already have consent-based rape laws.