Victor Goury-Laffont and Klara Durand report:
French lawmakers approved legislation Wednesday that introduced the concept of consent in the legal definition of rape following the shocking Gisèle Pelicot trial last year.
While advocates have been pushing for years for France to change the definition of rape and sexual assault to outlaw nonconsensual acts, Pelicot’s case, where 51 men were accused of raping her with the help of her now ex-husband, who had drugged her, gave new impetus and got the ball rolling.
Until now, French law defined sexual assault — including rape — as acts performed through “violence, coercion, threat, or surprise.” Some of the lawyers in the trial had unsuccessfully centered their defense on the argument that the definition did not explicitly require seeking a partner’s consent, claiming their clients believed they were taking part in a sexual fetish shared by the couple.
Read more at Politico.