France urged to place consent at centre of rape law reform

A wall collage reads "the will and determination to move this society forward" alongside an image of Gisèle Pelicot, whose testimony in a rape case against her husband and strangers he met online became a catalyst for reform of France's rape laws.

In the wake of the Pelicot mass rape trial, a French parliamentary report has called for a fundamental change to the country's legal definition of rape, making consent its central element.

The report, published on Tuesday by the National Assembly’s delegation for women’s rights, described the case in which Gisèle Pelicot was drugged and raped repeatedly by both her husband and strangers he recruited online as a watershed moment.

Dominique Pelicot was found guilty of rape, and 50 other defendants of rape, attempted rape or sexual assault. However, the trial also served to highlight flaws in how French law addresses sexual violence, with the defence relying on outdated stereotypes and questioning the victim’s credibility.

"Now that the Mazan [the village in which the offences took place] rape trial has concluded, which has in many ways been a trial of rape culture itself, it is time to act," the parliamentary mission said.

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The report's co-authors, MPs Véronique Riotton and Marie-Charlotte Garin, argue that the law needs urgent reform.

"The new definition must specify that consent is specific, must be given freely and can be withdrawn at any time," the report said.

Mass rape trial revives question of consent within French law

Redefining rape

The proposal has sparked widespread debate in France.


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