"The text signals a move "from a culture of rape to a culture of consent", centrist lawmaker Véronique Riotton said after the bill, which she co-sponsored, passed the lower house last week. Consent, the text says, must be "free and informed, specific, prior and revocable", and evaluated according to the circumstances, noting that it cannot be inferred from "silence or lack of reaction"."
"Advocacy groups have 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," Lola Schulmann, advocacy officer at Amnesty International France, told AFP. "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."
France adopted a bill defining rape as any non-consensual sexual act and enshrining consent in the penal code after a final Senate vote. Consent must be free, informed, specific, prior and revocable and cannot be inferred from silence or lack of reaction. There is no consent when sexual acts are committed through violence, coercion, threat or surprise. Advocacy groups welcomed the reform while calling for deeper societal change, improved sex education, training for justice and police officials, and increased resources for support groups. The reform follows similar laws in several European countries and was prompted in part by the Gisèle Pelicot case. Only far-right lawmakers criticised the change.
Read at The Local France
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