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CRIME

‘Only yes means yes’: Spain moves to tighten consent laws against rape

Spain's cabinet approved a draft bill on Tuesday that strengthens the country's laws against rape by requiring explicit consent for sex acts, a move long demanded by assault survivors and women's rights groups.

'Only yes means yes': Spain moves to tighten consent laws against rape
Demonstrators shout slogans in Pamplona in 2018 during a protest against the acquittal of the 'wolf pack' rapists. Photo: Ander Guillenea/AFP

The proposed 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,” government spokeswoman María Jesús Montero told a news conference after the cabinet meeting.

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 themself “the wolf pack”, were initially only 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.

Dubbed the “only yes means yes” law, the bill will define rape as sex without clear consent, mirroring pioneering legislation which came into force in Sweden in 2018.

READ MORE:

Spain: All sexual acts that don’t begin with a ‘yes’ deemed illegal

The bill 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.

It also qualifies forced marriage and genital mutilation as criminal offences and stiffens laws against pimping.

The bill still must be approved by parliament, with a vote expected in the chamber in September.

Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez heads a minority government but he is expected to cobble together enough support from smaller regional parties to pass the bill.

Spain is considered a pioneer in the fight against violence against women after it in 2004 approved Europe’s first law that specifically cracked down on domestic violence.

That law made the victim’s gender an aggravating factor in cases of assault.

Only about a dozen European nations have changed their legal definition of rape as sex without consent, according to Amnesty International.

They include Belgium, Denmark, Germany and Ireland.

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CRIME

Convicted rapist Dani Alves leaves Spain jail after posting bail

Convicted rapist and former Brazil international Dani Alves left a prison near Barcelona on Monday after posting the €1 million bail set by a court to ensure his release pending appeal.

Convicted rapist Dani Alves leaves Spain jail after posting bail

The 40-year-old has been in jail since his arrest in January 2023 on suspicion of raping a young woman in the VIP bathroom of a Barcelona nightclub in the early hours of December 31, 2022.

Wearing jeans and a black jacket, his face expressionless, Alves walked out of the Brians 2 prison in San Esteban Sasroviras near Barcelona with his lawyer, AFP correspondents at the scene said.

The former Barcelona player, one of the world’s most decorated footballers, was convicted last month and sentenced to four-and-a-half years in jail, with his lawyers swiftly moving to file an appeal.

But in a surprise move, the court agreed last Wednesday to conditionally release him in exchange for posting a €1 million ($1.08 million) bail, handing over his Spanish and Brazilian passports, staying in Spain and presenting himself to court every week.

Alves had tried to make bail several times since his arrest but his requests were turned down on the basis he was a flight risk since Brazil does not extradite citizens sentenced in other countries. Alves’ lawyers are seeking his acquittal, and the appeal process could take months to complete

Prosecutors, however, want his prison sentence doubled to nine years. They and the victim’s lawyer Ester Garcia have appealed the decision to grant Alves bail.

“This sends the message that this is justice for the rich, and even if there is a conviction, if you pay bail there are no criminal consequences,” she told reporters last week.

“It’s a very dangerous message for society,” she added, saying her client was “totally outraged, very despondent and very frustrated”.

Brazil’s Lula slams bail deal

The court’s decision to free Alves was also robustly criticised by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

“We cannot stay silent in the face of this injustice,” he said on Thursday, stressing that money “cannot undo the crime that a man commits by raping a woman”.

“When sex is something between two people, it has to be agreed to by both of them,” and if not, that constitutes “a crime”, he said.

During the trial, the victim, who testified behind a screen to protect her identity, said Alves had violently forced her to have sex despite begging him to let her go, causing her “anguish and terror”, according to prosecutors present for her declaration.

Alves’ lawyers had argued the victim had been “glued” to the player while dancing at the nightclub, saying there was “sexual tension” between them. But in its 61-page decision, the court said that did not mean “that she consented to anything that might have subsequently happened”.

Spain’s leftist government passed a new in 2022 that strengthens the country’s penal code against rape by requiring explicit consent for sex acts, a move long demanded by assault survivors and women’s rights groups.

Alves is widely considered one of the greatest defenders of all time, having won 42 trophies. The peak of his career was with Barcelona between 2008 and 2016, alongside Lionel Messi, when he won 23 trophies.

At the time of his arrest, he was contracted to Mexican club Pumas UNAM. He was sacked soon after being detained

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