Figure 1. Eiffel Tower, Paris, France. Source: Unsplash
A long, over-due step has been taken in France to protect children against sexual violence and ensure their safety. In February, the country had announced that it is set to pass a law that will finally provide an age of consent, which the country did not previously have.
Under French law, rape is defined as sexual penetration which results in “violence, duress, threat, or surprise”, without the victim’s age taken under consideration. In such cases, the suspects were usually given a lighter sentence, and were charged with sexual abuse of a minor and not rape. This has a maximum sentence of 5 years in prison and a fine of Euros 61,000 (AED 269,913 / GBP 52,683) . Due to the absence of laws when it comes to sexual assault, France has struggled over the years to prosecute criminals in child sexual abuse cases. Prosecutors must prove that the minor was forced into the sexual act in order to bring rape charges, which in most cases proves to be difficult as children are usually threatened by their abuser to stay quiet.
Psychologist, Muriel Salmona stated that the increase in numbers when it comes to violence against children are high throughout Europe, however, France is a country that seems to tolerate sexual violence against children”. The legislation for the age of consent varies across countries in Europe due to the Lanzarote Convention 2011, which enforces over all countries of the European Union (EU) to criminalize certain act concerning children under the age of 18. Under this convention, Article 3 states criminalizing acts with a child, which includes force, threats and Abuse.
The various countries within Europe and their age of consent as follows:
Figure 2. A map of Europe and the age of consent in each country. Source: Euronews.
In the UK, the age of consent is 16 years old, but children under the age of 13 have additional legal protections with regards to consent.
What caused France to finally pass such a law after all these years?
It firstly started with the #MeToo movement, where the rape cases were on a rise within the country and tens of thousands of individuals shared their devastating stories of sexual abuse as children. France, at that time, was also dealing with two high profile cases, which involved two adult men accused of sexually assaulting 11-year old girls. This incident caused great social upheaval and led citizens to demand for new laws around child abuse in the country. Nous Toutes which translates to ‘All of us’, the sexual violence organisation that started the campaign stated that previously, such a high record of testimonies on sexual violence suffered by children had not been seen before in the country. However, in March 2018, France attempted to introduce laws to combat this issue, by including fines for sexual harassment, and by setting also the age of consent to 15 in the country. However, it failed, due to pressure from several men’s groups that believed that it would result in an assumption of guilt.
Figure 3. A protest against rape. Source: Unsplash
Two more prominent cases furthered the petition for the passing of laws on sexual abuse within the country. Soon after the #MeToo movement had gained momentum and more testimonies were flooding in, the stepdaughter of a prominent political commentator, Oliver Duhamel accused her stepfather of abusing her and her brother when they were children. The situation worsened even more when the high court in France faced another high-profile case involving a woman who stated that she was repeatedly sexually abused by 20 firefighters over a span of two years, during the ages of 13-15. The women had been dubbed “Julie” by the media. However, none of the men were charged with rape. Currently, only 3 of the men who have admitted were charged with sexual violation, a crime which only carries a 7-year prison sentence.
Will France finally have laws to protect minors against sexual abuse?
Figure 4. Is the law always in accordance with the administration of justice? Source: Unsplash.
The French Justice Minister, Mr. Eric Dupond-Moretti announced that the government will set an age of sexual consent at 15. Now, any minor under the age of 15 years old faced with an act of sexual assult, it will be considered rape. The legislation should be put into effect over the next 3 months. He further stated that there are exceptions made for teenagers in relationships who have consensual intercourse. This of course supports the law of equity, which is a system of law that encompasses a formal body of indispensable and procedural rules and doctrine that override common law. If, on the other hand, we were to look at India’s regulatory system, the country has established the Protection of Children against Sexual Offences (POCSO) 2012 which criminalizes all sexual behavior for individuals under the age of 18 years old and ensures a rigorous imprisonment to ensure the safety of minors. POCSO does not differentiate between intercourse between consenting minors and between minors and adults. This goes against the law of equity because it does not allow for young adults to make decisions within their personal lives. Furthermore, the Justice Ministry in France has taken under consideration extending or removing the statue of limitations on sexual violence against children, due to the time it takes most children to come forward with the horrific testimonies.
The deep hope of everyone is that these solutions will reduce the alarming percentage of rape cases within France and will ensure that the perpetrators get the maximum sentence in prison. Only by passing this law will the state be able to provide minors with the protection and justice they need and deserve by giving them an opportunity to overcome this terrible incident and enabling them to go back to what their life previously was.
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