MADRID – Spain’s government is scrambling to close a loophole in a law it introduced that inadvertently reduced prison sentences for sex offenders and sparked new tensions between left-wing coalition partners. went.
Guarantee of Sexual Freedom Act – also known as “YES ONLY MEANS YES LAW” – means that it is no longer necessary to show that violence or intimidation was used in sexual assault. Introduced in October, it aims to favor victims of such attacks and ensure consensual sexual relations.
However, the law has led to more 200 convicted sex offenders Their prison terms have been reduced, and many of them have been released, as the broader definition of sexual assault introduced in the law means that the minimum sentence has been reduced.
After months of pressure from the opposition, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez of the Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) has said the government plans to review the law to plug loopholes. Isabel Rodríguez, official spokesperson of the PSOE, said the law A “technical adjustment” is required.
But the PSOE’s junior coalition partner, Unidas Podemos (UP), which controls the equality ministry that has been the driving force behind the law, has been opposing any such changes. It insists that the law is technically sound and that socially conservative magistrates are at fault for reducing sentences.
“When a new law comes into force that makes a big difference…it takes some time to work and, of course, there are judges who continue to apply a sexist and patriarchal approach and they fail to properly interpret the law. do not apply from Eoin Belara saidSocial Rights Minister of U.P. He claimed that the PSOE’s “legs are shaking” on the issue.
Meanwhile, harsh criticism of the sentence reduction continues from the right-wing opposition.
Alberto Nunez Feijoo, leader of the conservative People’s Party (PP), Sanchez said “Will go down in history as someone who set back the feminist struggle in Spain.”
There has also been criticism from senior figures in the PSOE, such as the president of the Castilla-La Mancha region, Emiliano García-Page, who asked: “How many sentences [reductions] should there be someone in front [Equality] The ministry promoting the law begins to think that they must have made a mistake?
Despite its public reluctance to review the law, the UP PSOE is in discussion with legal sources to end the trend of sentence reductions – for example, by reintroducing prison terms for sex offenders. However, UP is concerned that the changes to the law proposed by its ally could undermine the presumption of consent enshrined in the law. Sánchez has suggested that his party will seek parliamentary support from elsewhere – possibly even the opposition PP – if no agreement is reached.
It is the latest in a series of issues over which the PSOE and UP have clashed since Spain formed the first coalition government of the modern era in 2020. Arms supplies to Ukraine, transgender laws, and the monarchy have all generated tension between them. in the past, but this crisis is particularly damaging.
Pablo Simón, a political scientist at Madrid’s Carlos III University, said, “It is part of an ongoing rivalry – at times explicit, other times less so – between the PSOE and the UP for control of the feminist issue.”
“It is clear that this is seriously bad for the government,” he said. “The reduction of punishment for sex offenders because of this law is having an impact on the electoral prospects of the Left in general.”
While the coalition is expected to survive this latest storm, its political ramifications may soon become apparent with regional and municipal elections due in May and a general election by the end of the year.