Copyright france24
The bill states that “any non-consensual sexual act constitutes sexual assault”. Consent is defined as “freely given, informed, specific, prior and revocable” and assessed “in the light of the circumstances”. The text says it “cannot be inferred solely from the silence or the lack of reaction of the victim”. The bill also specifies that there is no consent if the sexual act is committed with “violence, coercion, threat or surprise”. Last week, it was widely approved by lawmakers from almost all ranks at the National Assembly, France’s lower house of parliament. The country's far right, including Marine Le Pen's National Rally, voted against it. The Senate is expected to give its final approval later Wednesday, the last step before the bill becomes law via official publication. 'A historic step forward' Once approved, France will join many other European nations that have similar consent-based laws on rape, including neighbouring Germany, Belgium and Spain. Until now, rape under French law was defined as penetration or oral sex using “violence, coercion, threat or surprise". France has taken other steps in recent years to toughen punishment for sexual misconduct, including setting 15 as the age of consent. Advocacy groups welcomed the reform, while stressing it must be accompanied by deeper societal change. "This is a historic step forward, following in the footsteps of several other European countries," said Lola Schulmann, advocacy officer at Amnesty International France. "But it is only one step, because we know that there is still a long way to go to end impunity for gender-based and sexual violence," she added.
