The Minister of Justice, Didier Migaud, reaffirmed this Sunday, October 27 on BFMTV that he was in favor of changing the definition of rape in French legislation by integrating the notion of consent, recalling however the need to be “cautious with the terms” used. in a new wording of the law.
“Yes, I am in favor of us being able to work on a (new) wording” of the law, the Minister of Justice said again on our set.
“We must be careful,” warned Didier Migaud, concerned that a new wording “should not be more harmful to victims than the current version.”
“You have to be careful with the terms,” he insisted. “We are completely willing to work on it,” he assured, specifying that he had already “received parliamentarians” on this issue.
Macron is also in favor of changing the definition of rape
The debate over redefining rape in the penal code to take into account lack of consent resurfaced in France during the Mazan rape trial.
Currently, article 222-23 of the penal code defines rape as “any act of sexual penetration, of any nature, or any oral-genital act committed on the person of another or on the person of the perpetrator by means of violence, coercion, threat or surprise” .
The notion of consent, which resurfaced in the 2010s with the #MeToo shockwave, is not explicitly mentioned there. Last March, Emmanuel Macron also said he was in favor of changing the definition of rape.
Subsequently, the Head of State hoped that a proposed text could see the light “before the end of the year”; A prospect that became uncertain with the surprise announcement of the dissolution of the National Assembly in early June, which put an end to ongoing work on this issue.
Source: BFM TV