Spain Passed A Sexual Assault Law That Centers Consent

In August, the Spanish Congress passed a law that reframes the importance of consent in cases of rape and sexual assault, joining countries like Canada, Sweden, and Denmark with similar laws. The new law makes consent a deciding factor in whether or not a case can be considered rape. Consent, under this law, can be expressed verbally as well as “through acts that, in view of the circumstances of the case, clearly express the will of the person.” Silence and passivity, however, do not qualify as consent.

The law also importantly identifies a range of convictions for “sexual aggressors” from fines to 15 years in prison, depending on the severity of the act. There are also more stringent sentences for particularly severe cases of rape, including gang rape, incest, drugging, rape against a partner, and if the perpetrator targets a vulnerable person. It also allows for the prosecution of street harassment.

Spanish law previously required violence or coercion for an act to be considered rape.

Amnesty International has noted that laws that use violence to define rape do not reflect the reality of sexual assault. The organization explained that “most rapes do not fit stereotypes such as a ‘stranger jumping out of the bushes,’” and that the shock of the moment can lead victims to freeze. Fortunately, Spain’s new law is a step in the right direction, providing avenues for sexual assault cases that might have previously faced roadblocks in Spain’s legal system.

There has been an outpouring of concern about Spain’s treatment of sexual assault survivors in recent years. In 2016, the country gained international attention for failing to adequately prosecute five men who gang-raped an 18-year-old during Pamplona’s infamous running of the bulls. Despite a video depicting the attack showing the victim closed-eyed and motionless, the self-described “wolf pack” members were acquitted of rape and only sentenced to nine years in prison for sexual abuse.

The incident sparked an outcry from women across the country and spurred mass protests. Women banged pots and pans, protested in the streets, and took to Twitter to express their outrage. Journalist Cristina Fallarás described her experience with sexual violence using the hashtag #Cuéntalo or “Tell your story.” The hashtag spread rapidly across countries, becoming the #MeToo of the Spanish-speaking world.

In a backlash against this feminist movement, the far-right Vox party started to gain power. The Spanish political party catered to voters who saw women’s liberation as a threat, dubbing the movement “radical feminism.” In December 2018, it won multiple congressional seats, making it the first far-right party to do so since the death of dictator Francisco Franco. The group has weighed in on some sexual assault cases but has largely seemed to do so as a means of addressing other agendas. For instance, they used a woman’s alleged rape by a group of Moroccan boys to promote anti-immigrant sentiment. When it came time to vote for the new consent law, the party voted against it along with the conservative People’s Party. Ultimately the law passed with 205 votes, beating 141 no votes and three abstentions.

Now that the law has passed, there could be positive implications for how other countries view Spain. In 2020, The New York Times reported that the U.S. embassy urged caution to Americans visiting Spain, noting a “steady increase in the number of assaults” over the previous five years. Spanish officials claimed that the increase could be due to an increase in victims coming forward and noted that statistics about rape in the country remained low. However, a piece in Al Jazeera noted that the small number of reports of rape could still be an undercount if victims don’t feel comfortable coming forward.

The new law has not been put to use yet, so it remains to be seen how the law will be enforced and what effect it will have on survivors. With such egregious miscarriages of justice in Spain’s past, it’s hard to imagine a single law will entirely transform a legal system that has been biased against victims for so long or quell the misogynist voices that are experiencing an acute renaissance in political power. We can only hope the law will offer a sliver of hope for survivors seeking justice. If it can, the result could have positive ripple effects not just for Spain but around the world.