Protesters denounce blockage of EU legislation defining rape as sex without consent
Protesters denounce blockage of EU legislation defining rape as sex without consent
www.euronews.com
Protesters gather in Brussels to denounce gender violence
25 comments
25 comments
It's wild that some countries doesn't consider it rape unless violence is used. Fucked up world.
Hot take: Rape is violence, no matter what.
I understand what you're trying to say, but the counter argument is that rape could occur through coercion or deception.
There's the violence of "a wrong committed against a person's body", and there's violence in the sense of "a direct application of physical force".
I think everyone here is in agreement that the second sense should not be considered a prerequisite for the first.
I think the problem is this is "legally defining"
So a hot take just wouldn't hold up in court. This is about pushing it further than just a hot take.
Yeah. That’s the only attitude that makes the French legal definition of rape barely tolerable.
Far from ideal, but it leaves enough room for interpretation that a decent judge can work with it. Unfortunately, that same leeway can also allow a shitty judge to let scumbags off easy.
I can't be fucked to find the original analysis I read on this, but IIRC France objects because they are already party to the Istanbul Convention which apparently defines things in a way that, they argue, not only is redundant but is more specific and therefore holds more legal weight.
I'm no jurist, but I think there's more nuance to this subject than sensationalist headlines imply.
So, what kind of non-consensual sex act couldn't be argued to be rape under this definition? "violence, coercion, threat, or surprise" seems to cover all bases I can (perhaps naively) think of.
At least I don't think we should so easily dismiss concerns that a competing definition might weaken the word of the law, as well intentioned as it may be.
So because France considers their definition to be the same or better, they block it from becoming the definition for the whole bloc where other countries have looser definitions. Make no sense and makes them the bad guy here holding off the progress.
This is just France being France. They are the obstinate teenager of the EU. It doesn't need any logic, they just need to be both correct and different.
Right... Like: "it's not a bank robbery if you don't use a gun!"
Robbery does require violence though.