UN rapporteur calls for more protection for sexual violence victims in Spain over consent law

By Beyza Binnur Donmez

GENEVA (AA) - A UN rapporteur on Tuesday urged Spain to provide more protection for sexual violence victims, voicing concern over a new sexual consent law in the country.

"Although there is no going back, it is now crucial that the Spanish Government and its institutions monitor the real impact of the early release of perpetrators of violence on the lives of victims, try to minimize re-victimization and guarantee their protection," Reem Alsalem, the UN special rapporteur on violence against women and girls, said in a statement.

She was referring to the adoption of the law on sexual consent in Spain which was passed in October and resulted in the reduction of sentences, in some cases leading to early releases.

As of April 12, 943 of the 4,000 perpetrators of sexual violence serving prison sentences have seen their sentences reduced after the "Only Yes is Yes" law, according to the General Council of the Judiciary.

Recalling Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's public apology for the inadvertent impact of the new law, Alsalem noted that the April 27 revision of the law restored the levels of punishment for sexual and gender-based crimes against women and minors that existed in the Penal Code before the new law was introduced.

"The negative consequences have sadly overshadowed many positive aspects of the sexual consent law, including preventative measures to combat sexual violence; recognition of the rights of victims and facilitation of their access to remedies; emphasis on the obligation of the state to provide legal and medical assistance; and guarantees of the right to reparation," she said.

Stressing that the law has not been accompanied by resources to guarantee its correct application, she said that a third of the victims of sexual violence in Spain have not received any compensation for the violence suffered and around half of the victims do not receive any compensation provided for in the sentences imposed by the courts on their aggressors, according to the estimates.

"Using the threshold of whether there was consent or not as the burden of proof loses meaning in many situations and can lead to the burden of proof falling on the victims and not on the aggressors," the special rapporteur said.

"For a country with a high rate of femicide, reducing the sentences of those guilty of perpetrating acts of sexual violence - against women and minors - sends the wrong message about the state's priorities when it comes to ending violence against women and children and fighting against impunity for such crimes."

Given the importance of the law and its far-reaching ramifications for victims of sexual abuse, more time should have been given to consultations on the measure, rather than rushing it through, Alsalem said.