MADRID: Spain’s congress has passed law referred to as the “only yes means yes law”, drawn up in the wake of the “wolf pack” gang rape in 2016. People in Spain will have to explicitly voice their consent to sexual acts in the future to make sure that they are not criminal, under a legislation passed by Parliament.
The legislation passed with 205 votes in favour, 141 against and 3 abstentions. MPs from the conservative People’s party and the far-right Vox voted against it.
The lower house had already approved the measure in May, but the Senate sent it back with a minor modification. The line between abuse and aggressiveness is blurred by the new legislation. Regardless matter whether the victim actively defends themselves, sexual abuse will be viewed by the law as rape.
Rape and sexual violence will amount a penalty of up to 15 years in prison. Furthermore, "intimidating" compliments and the spreading of sex tapes will also be criminalised. Equalities The bill, according to Minister Irene Montero, is "a major step to the reform of the sexual culture" in the nation. She said that it would halt a "culture of rape."
The recent spate of high-profile gang rape cases in which the offenders received light terms is in part what prompted the new push against sexual assault.
During the Festival of San Fermn in Pamplona in July 2016, a gang of five men pulled a young woman into a house where they repeatedly raped her while filming the incident. This case sparked outrage.
The court did not regard the evidence as conclusive of rape, because the victim remained passive. The 2018 verdict prompted protests throughout the country.
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