The feminist motto "Only yes is yes" takes its most important step to become law.

The Congress of Deputies supports by a large majority the flagship project of the Minister for Equality, Irene Montero, which now only has the formal passage through the Senate to be definitively approved and enter into force.

The so-called

law of the only yes is yes

, because it is inspired by those proclaimed by the feminist mobilizations that took to the streets after the sentence of

La Manada

, whose main novelty is that it places sexual consent at the center.

From there, whether there is or not is what will be decisive when prosecuting the rapes and other sexual violence that are included in the project.

The most visible consequence in the Penal Code is that the differentiation between abuse and sexual assault is ended.

Any sexual conduct without consent will be considered assault and will be punished with a range of penalties depending on the circumstances and aggravating circumstances (violence, use of chemical submission, in a group...).

The bill achieves broad support from Congress with the vote in favor of the

PSOE

,

Unidas Podemos

,

ERC

,

Ciudadanos

,

PNV

,

EH Bildu

,

Más País

,

Compromís

,

Junts

, among others.

Instead, they vote against the

PP

and

Vox

.

The main censorship carried out by the

popular ones , as

Marta González

has explained

, is that the wording of the consent "puts the presumption of innocence at risk" because "it inverts the burden of proof" on the accused, who will be the one who has to prove that there was consent.

For its part, Vox has also influenced this because, in its opinion, judges are "forced" to "believe women without evidence" and allow them to "lie" and "commit crimes" knowing that on many occasions it is "impossible" to prove consent.

The law has generated a broad consensus among the groups, but prostitution has once again proven to be an issue of conflict, after this issue has been the focus of debate and conflict throughout the process.

The PSOE has lamented that the sexual freedom law is going to leave out the women who are under that "yoke" and that it was due to the "threat" of other parties willing to overthrow the law on this issue.

The deputy

Laura Berja

has criticized that some groups "do not know what to say because they do not have a position" and has urged that it is enough to say "now it is not time" because it is time to position oneself.

Although it will be in the law that the PSOE has presented to abolish prostitution.

For her part, the Minister for Equality, Irene Montero, celebrated that the feminist movement "is making history again" with this law and stressed that the law represents a "decisive step to change the sexual culture" of the country, to leave behind "sexual terror", "guilt" or "fear".

"We want to leave behind the culture of rape and build a true culture of consent," he stressed.

Something that he has stated is going to be achieved "despite" the "reactionary noise", the "extreme right" or "patriarchal justice".

These are the key points of the Organic Law of Comprehensive Guarantee of Sexual Freedom, known as

the law of only yes is yes

:

Consent

It is the fundamental aspect that inspires and supports the law and that will serve to judge all sexual crimes.

It can be summed up in the slogan "Only yes is yes", which was used in the feminist protests for the case of the Pack.

This is how it is explained in the law: "It will only be understood that there is consent when it has been freely expressed through acts that, in view of the circumstances of the case, clearly express the will of the person."

That is to say, the consent must be positive, therefore silence, passivity or not showing opposition are not excuses.

Once consent is placed at the center, it avoids leaving defenseless victims who have not shown physical resistance for different reasons, such as fear or intimidation.

Proving that opposition was key to charging with the crime of sexual assault.

End the distinction between abuse and assault

It is linked to the previous point and is one of the most relevant issues of the law.

The distinction between abuse and sexual assault is ended with a reform of the Criminal Code that will consider all sexual acts not consented by the victim to be a violation, which will be punished with different types of penalties depending on the severity and the circumstances.

Until now, the distinction was determined based on whether there were episodes of violence or intimidation.

Changing this was a demand of the feminist movement.

System of sentences of up to 15 years and aggravating

The new penalty system ranges from a fine to prison terms of 12 years for aggravated violations, and up to 15 years when two aggravating circumstances concur.

Among the aggravating factors are, among others, sexual assaults committed by two or more people, the use of drugs or drugs to annul the will of the victim, that the woman is a partner or ex-partner (even without living together) or the use of physical violence or weapons to threaten.

Fine for the "intimidating" compliment

A novelty is the criminal prosecution of expressions, compliments, behaviors or propositions of a sexual nature "that create an objectively humiliating, hostile or intimidating situation for the victim."

They will carry a fine or work for the benefit of the community or the penalty of permanent location.

For that, the aggrieved person will have to file a complaint.

Prostitution

Finally, this issue has been left out of the law after a head-on collision occurred that jeopardized the processing of the standard.

The Ministry of Equality amended itself and from United We Can support other parliamentary groups to lift from the law the persecution of locative third parties, that is, the transfer of spaces, premises or flats to practice prostitution, even if it is voluntarily. .

The PSOE presented an amendment to toughen up this persecution but was finally forced to give in and withdraw it because the rest of the parties threatened to overthrow the law.

And that would have approved it with the votes of the PP.

24-hour service centers

A catalog of measures is established to provide victims of sexual violence with specialized comprehensive assistance to address their situation.

From medical, psychological or labor care, to legal advice and free legal assistance.

In order to provide this service, "24-hour centers" will be set up under the criteria of "permanent attention and urgent action".

Children's Houses

Regarding minor victims, the bases are established to implement in Spain the

Anglo-Saxon or Scandinavian

Barnahus

Children's House

model .

It is sought that in these Children's Houses they receive specialized attention and also obtain justice, the sources of revictimization for the child are drastically reduced and greater guarantees are offered of obtaining a testimony in safe conditions that facilitates the investigation.

Punishment for the dissemination of sexual videos

The dissemination of private photographs and videos of sexual content without consent will be a conduct punishable by three months to one year in prison or a fine of six to 12 months.

Similarly, sharing or forwarding this type of image via Whatsapp or other channels after receiving it will also be subject to a fine of one to three months.

Sex education at all stages

The education system will provide content on "sexual education and gender equality and affective-sexual education for students appropriate according to age" and "at all educational levels".

In addition, at all stages there will be training content "on the appropriate and critical use of the Internet and new technologies, aimed at raising awareness and preventing sexual violence and protecting privacy.

Other sexual violence

In addition to rape, which is the most serious expression, female genital mutilation, forced marriage, sexual harassment and trafficking for sexual exploitation are also classified as sexual violence.

Conforms to The Trust Project criteria

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  • Irene Montero

  • PSOE

  • United We Can

  • vox

  • PP

  • Sexual Freedom Law

  • Congress of Deputies

  • sexual assaults

  • Articles Alvaro Carvajal