Spain parliament’s lower house passes bill to term all non-consensual sex as rape
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The legislation, which was being worked out for over two years, was passed in the parliament with 195 votes and three abstentions. The bill will now be tabled in the upper house. If it gets passed after the vote, it will enter into force. The minority leftist government of the country has been looking to combat gender violence for a long time
A bill has been passed in the lower house of Spain's parliament on Thursday to qualify all kinds of non-consensual sex as rape, media reports said. The move has come over social outrage after the Wolf Pack case triggered momentum to the women's rights movement in Spain. Known as "Only yes is yes", the legislation, which is proposed by the government, has qualified the crimes of sexual abuse and sexual assault as rape. When it becomes a law, the victims will not have to prove violence or resistance.
In Congress, Equality Minister Irene Montero told lawmakers, "The (mottos) 'only yes is yes' and 'sister I do believe you' finally turn into a law. From now on, Spain is a freer and safer country for all women."
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The legislation, which was being worked out for over two years, was passed in the parliament with 195 votes and three abstentions. The bill will now be tabled in the upper house. If it gets passed after the vote, it will enter into force. The minority leftist government of the country has been looking to combat gender violence for a long time.