Madrid August 26, : The population in Spain must expressly consent to sexual activities in the near future, to make sure they aren’t committing a crime under a law that was that was approved by the parliament.The right-wing conservative People’s Party (PP) and the right-wing populist Vox party opposed the controversial “Yes means Yes” law and argued that it violates the principle of innocence until proven guilty, according to the news agency dpa.
The law was already under lower house examination in May however, it was rescinded by the Senate with only a minor modification.
The new law eliminates the distinction between aggression and abuse.
Sexual abuse will be considered as rape under the law, regardless of how the victim is actively defending him or herself.
Sexual violence and rape be punished with a maximum of between 15 and 15 years in prison.
Additionally, “intimidating” compliments and the dissemination of sex recordings will be slapped with a criminal.
Equalities Minister Irene Montero called the law “a significant step towards the transformation of the sexuality society” of the country.
It will end an “culture of rape”, she said.
In May, she had said that “the feminist movement is writing history in Spain”.
The new campaign against sexual violence comes in the wake of a variety of prominent instances of sexual assaults by gangs, in which the perpetrators were punished with minor sentences in recent years.
A incident in July of 2016 in particular caused outrage following the incident, in which the group of five men were caught dragging a young woman inside a home in the festival of San Fermin in Pamplona in Spain, raped her several times and recording the whole incident.
The court did not consider the evidence as conclusive of rape because the victim was passive.
The verdict of 2018 has sparked protests across the country.
