In a historic move, Spain’s parliament has approved a bill that emphasises the importance of consent and makes it a key determinant in sexual assault cases.
According to The Guardian, the bill, which is popularly known as “only yes means yes”, will seek to “tackle the nebulous definition of consent in Spanish law”.
The country’s law had long relied on evidence of violence, resistance or intimidation to give judgment in sexual assault cases.
What is the new Spanish law?
The Guarantee of Sexual Freedom law was approved by a clear margin.
According to the Agence France-Presse, the new law "makes clear that silence or passivity do not mean consent, or that not showing opposition can not be an excuse to act against the will of the other person," said government spokeswoman Maria Jesus Montero, who called it "a decisive step forward".
The bill will define rape as sex without clear consent, mirroring pioneering legislation which came into force in Sweden in 2018. Non-consensual sex can now be considered aggression and subject to prison terms of up to 15 years.
It also proposes jail penalties for work-related sexual harassment and makes catcalling -- sexually harassing a stranger in the street -- a criminal offence for the first time.
The bill also qualifies forced marriage and genital mutilation as criminal offences and stiffens laws against pimping.
Irene Montero, the minister for equality, said that “From today, Spain is a freer, safer country for all women.”
“We are going to swap violence for freedom, we are going to swap fear for desire,” she said, as quoted by The Guardian.
The draft will now face a vote in the Senate before it can become law.
According to the report, the draft bill includes other measures such as obliging minors who commit sexual crimes to undergo sex education, gender equality training, and creating a network of 24-hour crisis centres for survivors of sexual assault and their family members.
What is the background for this law?
The measure comes in the wake of the notorious 2016 gang rape of an 18-year-old woman by five men at a bull-running festival in Pamplona in northern Spain that shocked the country.
The men, who called themselves "the wolf pack", were initially convicted of sexual abuse instead of the more serious offence of sexual assault, which includes rape, since the court found no proof that they had used physical violence.
Two of the men filmed the assault, during which the woman is silent and passive -- a fact the judges interpreted as consent.
The ruling highlighted how under Spain's existing criminal code, rape must involve violence and intimidation, and it led to noisy demonstrations across the country to demand reform.
How Spain is making world a better place for women
In the last few weeks, the Spanish cabinet has passed several measures to make society a better and safer place for women.
Spain's cabinet on 17 May approved a bill that grants paid medical leave for women who suffer from severe period pain, becoming the first European country to advance such legislation.
Menstrual leave is currently offered only in a small number of countries across the globe, among them South Korea and Indonesia.
Also read: Explained: What is menstrual leave and which countries allow it?
But the proposed legislation must still be approved by the Spanish parliament, with a vote not expected for months.
The Spanish bill entitles workers experiencing period pain to as much time off as they need, with the state social security system -- not employers -- picking up the tab for the sick leave.
The Spanish legislation is part of a much wider reproductive health reform which will include changes to the country's abortion laws.
It will end the requirement for minors of 16 and 17 to obtain parental consent before terminating a pregnancy and include measures to boost access to abortion at public hospitals.
The draft bill also calls for the free distribution of contraceptives and menstrual hygiene products in high schools, and strengthens sex education.
Spain decriminalised abortion in 1985 in cases of rape, if a foetus is malformed or if a birth poses a serious physical or psychological risk to the mother.
With inputs from agencies
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