![]() The Paris action, where a banner said "Only yes means yes," was organized by groups including nonprofit organization Avaaz and the European Women Lobby, an umbrella group of women's nongovernmental associations in Europe.įrance is among some EU countries that argue that the issue of rape is a matter of criminal law, and therefore falls within the competence of member countries, not the EU.įrance has taken steps in recent years to toughen punishment for rape and sexual misconduct, including setting 15 as the age of consent. "It does not take into account our consent, our will, what we, as women, want." "I'm here today because it infuriates me to see that our criminal law is not up to the task, that today it allows for rape to happen," said Sirine Sehil, a criminal law attorney. French law, for instance, considers that a rape can be considered to have occurred when "an act of sexual penetration or an oral-genital act is committed on a person, with violence, coercion, threat or surprise." Many others still require the use of force, or threat, to mete out punishment. While other details of the directive, which include a proposal for the criminalization of female genital mutilation and cyberbullying, seem to gather a consensus among the 27 member countries, the definition of rape based on the lack of consent is deeply divisive.Īccording to Human Rights Watch, only 13 EU member states use consent-based definitions to criminalize rape. The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, proposed legislation last year to make consent-based rape laws consistent across the bloc, and to introduce a common set of penalties. The demonstrators gathered in downtown Paris on the eve of International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women to apply pressure on the French head of state. PARIS (AP) - Activists wearing masks depicting President Emmanuel Macron urged France on Thursday to change its position and endorse a law proposed by the European Union that would define rape as sex without consent in the bloc's 27 countries.
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